


The Torment of Fire

by Marissaxx



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Did I say Slowburn?, Diggle is A Badass, F/M, H.I.V.E baby H.I.V.E, Slow Burn, So much angst it hurts, Team Arrow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-07
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-03 08:30:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4094065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marissaxx/pseuds/Marissaxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Picks up after 3x10. Oliver Queen challenged a man thought to be the most dangerous and fearful assassin in the world, and lost. The consequences would be direr than he ever imagined. </p>
<p>**Originally on fanfic.net</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Return

_Harsh winds wrought through the air as a blizzard of snow turned the sky white. The mountain was cold and barren, with the exception of a lone, unmoving body, broken and lying over the side of a cliff, far below the peak._

_A few feet away- as lithe and silent as a mountain lion- a figure wrapped in black, stepped forward out of the shadow of the bushes._

* * *

"Digg!" Felicity flattened herself to the ground as bullets ricocheted around her, miraculously missing her by inches.

John Diggle, who was currently in close combat with one of Bricks street thugs, slammed his glock against the side of his head and ran towards her, simultaneously shooting at targets that were invisible to Felicity. Evidently he was shooting at someone because the bullets stopped abruptly.

"You okay?!" He yelled over the chaos ensuing all around them. The shootout between Bricks men and the SCPD had began a little more than twenty minutes ago. Felicity's eyes searched for Laurel's telltale Canary suit, but she couldn't make out anything, much less anyone.

"Considering the circumstances, I could be better! Where are Roy and Laurel?"

"I don't know. I lost them when Lance's men started shooting at us." He grunted, obviously displeased about being attacked by the people who were supposed to be on their side; even though he knew it was unintentional.

"We have to find Brick, otherwise this is completely pointless."

Digg nodded as he surveyed their surroundings. "I know, but I can't take him out by myself. We need to find Roy."

Felicity agreed and took John's extended hand. He looked at her. "You ready?"

She would have to go with a resounding nope.

"Yeah." She managed to gasp.

Diggle knew better. "Just stay behind me." He pulled her up and led her along the side of the abandoned warehouse Felicity had tracked Brick to. They crouched low, to avoid stray bullets.

They managed to make it around the corner when a sudden explosion rocked the ground. Felicity felt Diggs hand slip from hers, as she was flung violently against the steel wall.

She lay immobile for a few moments, disoriented and hurt. Her ears rang as she struggled to rise, digging her fingers into the ground to pull herself upright. Felicity reached for her pounding head and felt her hair damp with a sticky substance.

Before she could process the implications of this, a blurred pair of heavy black boots materialized in front of her. She looked up slowly and even through her hazy vision, Felicity realized they didn't need to find Brick after all.

He'd found them.

* * *

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" He stepped forward.

"You're… blonder than I'd expected; and rather delicate." Felicity was too frozen with fear and pain to muster any annoyance at being called 'delicate'.

She let out a shaky breath and slid back, hitting steel. There was nowhere to go.

Daniel Brickwell was an imposing man.  _Not unlike Slade Wilson_. Felicity thought with a panic. She remembered nine months ago, when Slade's hand was pressed against her neck, the feeling of being so vulnerable… and human against Slade's lethal form. At least then she'd had a weapon, the serum to counteract the Mirakuru in Slade's system.

_And Oliver. You had Oliver._

Felicity pushed this chilling thought away just as John's groan brought her attention back to the present. Bricks dark eyes skimmed over where Felicity could see Digg stirring. His lips turned up, with a sort of cold humor to them. "Don't worry, he'll be next. I've been looking forward to another opportunity to kill him."

Felicity shivered and suddenly, without any warning, Brick's hands were around her neck. He lifted her up with one hand and then shoved her back against the hard steel walls. She cried out as his hands tightened, but she sagged forward when spots began to materialize in front of her eyes. Her surroundings grew dimmer and Digg's voice calling her name was like the sound of noise breaking through water.

She was going to die.

Abruptly the pressure from her throat lifted and she fell to the ground in a heap, gasping for air and clawing at her throat. Her eyes barely made out Brick, who stumbled back, staring at the three arrows buried in his chest, not alarmed, but rather confused.

Her fading sight was blocked by John as he stilled to a screech in front of her; and while he called her name and moved his frantic cold hands over her, the world seemed to slow to a halt. A painfully familiar figure landed in front of them with a resounding thud. He rose swiftly, slammed his bow twice against Brick's head, dodged a punch and then landed his own against Brick's jaw. He threw his bow aside and with one final elbow to the head, he grabbed Brick's neck and slammed him against the ground.

Felicity struggled against unconsciousness. He needed to remove the hood- _she needed to know_. Eventually, the darkness became too heavy and she let out one rattling breath, before slumping over. It had been a name.

"Oliver."


	2. The Dilemma of Felicity Smoak

When Felicity's eyes fluttered open, the first thing she became aware of was that her throat hurt-  _a lot_. Before she could reach for her neck, Felicity felt someone's hands over hers, holding them down gently. Diggs face grew into focus, hovering over what looked to be her hospital bed. "Don't, it's still inflamed, you need to let the swelling go down."

She opened her mouth to say something sarcastic. Probably along the lines of, "hey Digg, you need to work on your bedside manners", but to her chagrin, nothing came out aside from a pathetic rasp. John shot her a smile, like he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Don't worry; it's just a side effect of the swelling. You'll be babbling again in no time."

Felicity glared, which she imagined wasn't so menacing given his chuckle of amusement at his own bad joke.

Satisfied she wouldn't try to move again, he stepped back and fell into the chair he'd dragged beside her bed. 

Felicity’s heart swelled with appreciation, before certain events came rushing back in a sea of hazy memories. One in particular, stood out.

The arrows-the green and achingly familiar arrows- that Digg had decided to leave in the Foundry, before they'd gone off to the warehouse.

She breathed. "He's back…isn't he?"

He squeezed her hand and offered a small, yet encouraging smile. "Get some rest. Everything else can wait."

* * *

She heard her mother before she saw her. When Felicity opened her eyes again, it was to find a colorful Donna Smoak- a flurry of big hair, golden skin and short hemlines- frantically waving her hands in the nurse's face, while using what Felicity called her 'loud voice'. It would have been comical had she been in a more humorous mood.

"Mom, stop harassing the people trying to make me better." She rasped. Even though she still sounded like a dying whale, Felicity was happy to note that she was at the very least, coherent.

Both women whipped their heads in her direction and Donna's face brightened immediately. "Oh baby." She breathed.

The nurse stealthily made her escape as Donna gathered Felicity in a tight grip. "I was so worried! They called my cell while I was at work and I swear I thought I was going to have a heart attack when they told me you were in the hospital."

"I'm fine mom; you didn't need to fly all the way to Starling." Felicity said softly, squeezing her mother's hand. Truth be told, she'd never been happier to see her obnoxiously flamboyant mother- tight, short, flashy dresses and all.

Donna's face twisted. "Didn't need to fly? Young lady! You think I'd leave my baby girl lying in the hospital by herself after she'd been mugged?!" Her voice raised a few octaves.

Felicity tried not to look like this was news to her.

"Then again, you haven't exactly been alone, what with all your friends visiting. You have some incredible people in your life, you know that?" She sighed. "I'm so proud of you baby."

Felicity gave an inward sigh of relief that John had thought to provide a cover story. She couldn't imagine what her mother would think about her running around with a team of Vigilantes. Donna was no stranger to her daughter’s rebellious nature and Felicity had run with her share of strange crowds at MIT, but fighting crime with masked individuals with a knack for arrows and other lethal weapons, without the excuse of adolescent angst, probably wouldn’t sit as well.

She struggled to maintain a clear facade. "For what, getting myself into trouble?"

Her mother’s face twisted. "We'll talk about why you felt the need to walk through an abandoned alleyway by yourself in the first place, later. No, I'm proud of you for being so strong." She made no move to wipe the stray tear that fell.

Felicity gave a mollified grin. "Well you know what they say; I got it from my momma."

"I guess you did." Donna laughed and dried her eyes before smoothing out her dress.

A knock at the door turned their attention to a new visitor. Ray Palmer stood in the doorway, in that signature awkward yet entirely confident contradicting air he possessed, a bouquet of flowers in hand and his crooked smile in place. Donna's eyes gleamed.

"Bad time?"

"Not at all!" Her mother practically gushed. "Mr. Palmer, so good to see you again!"

He stepped inside and Felicity had to keep from groaning as Donna subtly fluffed her hair. 

"Please Miss Smoak, call me Ray."

She beamed. "Ray then." She turned back to Felicity, who was shocked that Donna even remembered she was there.

"I'm just going to step out for a bit. I'll be back in a jiff!" She leaned in for a hug and gave a not-so-sly wink, before leaving the room, almost skipping down the hall.

Felicity sighed and slapped her hand against her forehead. "Sorry about her, she can be a little…"

"Motherly?" Ray supplied.

"That's one way of putting it." She muttered under her breath.

He chuckled. "You know, I didn't see it before, but you're a lot more alike than it seems."

"I'm just going to pretend I misheard you through my medicated haziness."

He smiled and set the flowers next to the others, which Felicity had failed to notice before. Her heart did weird things when she spotted the familiar fern, looking oddly out of place next to the other extravagant flowers, yet wonderfully appropriate to Felicity.

"Thank you, they're beautiful. " She said distractedly.

Rays demeanor grew solemn. "It's the absolute least I could do."

Felicity gave a faraway smile; her mind still somewhere else, somewhere Ray could not reach. "It's perfect."

He walked forward and took the seat Digg had previously occupied. "I'm so sorry."

Felicity turned to stare at him and furrowed her brows. "For what?"

He shook his head in frustration. "If the suit had been completed by now, I could have-

"What? Found me in the middle of the night, somewhere in the Glades and beat up some street thug? Is this suit supposed to have ESP features I don't know about?" She shook her head. "Ray, this is not your fault…I'm not Anna."

Ray looked away.

"You've already done so much good-  _without_ the suit. Don't you realize that  _you_  have the capability and the resources to rebuild the Glades, make it somewhere people feel safe to live?"

Ray scoffed. " _Good_. Up until a few days ago, the Glades had been completely overrun with street thugs and criminals. All I've managed to do is tinker with a useless suit."

"What do you mean up until a few days ago?" Felicity asked, feigning ignorance.

Ray frowned. "Yeah, it's been all over the news. Apparently the Arrow's back. He put…well, an arrow through Brick-

He furrowed his brows. "-the same night you were mugged, actually."

She hummed in an attempt to keep her racing emotions at bay while her mind played back his words. He’d said it so casually, as if it didn’t have the power to stop her heart.

He shrugged, unaware of the wild emotions he’d unleashed. "Anyway, I should go. I still need my Vice President and you need your rest." He leaned forward and it looked like he was going to kiss her on the cheek, but thinking better of it, he pulled back and instead squeezed her shoulder.

As he left the room Felicity wondered to herself how many more times she would have to watch the ones she cared about put themselves in harm's way.

* * *

Roy gave a loud oath as he fell to the mat with a resounding thud.

Oliver smirked. "Not bad, you've been keeping up with your training."

"Still not good enough." Roy muttered, accepting Oliver's hand. It was still so surreal to him that Oliver was here, alive and breathing (and kicking his ass it seemed). It hadn't been easy accepting it. It would have been an understatement to say they were shocked. But with Felicity in the hospital, there hadn't been much time to dwell on it- until now of course.

Felicity was going to be fine (according to the good doctors of Starling City).

"Hey-

Oliver's reassuring voice startled him back to the present.

"I've had years to do this and I was nowhere as strong, or as determined as you are when I was at this stage of my training. You should be very proud of how far you've come."

Roy nodded, inwardly mollified.

"So, anymore word from the hospital?" Roy asked as he wiped a towel across his face.

Oliver's face stiffened, but he shook his head. "Not since she first woke up. Digg said she'll be fine though."

Roy watched Oliver hesitantly. "You don't think you should-

"No." Oliver answered briskly. "She needs time to heal."

Roy gave him a lingering look before shrugging and turning away, muttering obscenely under his breath.

Oliver sighed and decided to call it a day. "I think you've had enough for today, besides, I need to speak to Lance. I'll call you later if there's any news from the hospital."

Roy nodded as Oliver pulled his shirt on and over the thick gauze wrapped around his lower torso. He clapped his shoulder affectionately before striding out of the foundry.

Roy watched him leave, before shaking his head.

* * *

"Captain." Oliver greeted through his voice modulator.

Lance turned around, looking tired and worn. "I was about to wonder if you'd disappeared again."

Oliver's eyes flashed underneath his hood. "How is everything coming along? No problems?"

Lance shook his head. "We have Brick in custody, as well as a number of his thugs we managed to put down. A few escaped, but my guys found all the incriminating files and evidence Brick stole. So it's only a matter of time before they're all back behind bars."

Oliver nodded. "Good."

Lance frowned. "How's Miss Smoak? Been meaning to visit, but I haven't had the chance yet. City-wide outrage and all that."

"She's better. She woke up yesterday."

Lance gave him a dubious look. "The hood pay a visit?"

Oliver looked down. "No. But I'm keeping a close watch."

Quentin nodded. "Well, I can promise you that Brick will pay. You did your part, now it's time for us to do ours. Thanks for coming when you did."

"Yeah..."

"Just do me a favor." Lance said lightly. "Give me a heads up before you go on vacation again."

Oliver's lips turned up ever so slightly. "Will do." Without warning, he turned around abruptly, shot a wired arrow at something in the distance and pulling it taut, flew out of sight.

Lance scoffed. "Well goodbye to you too."

* * *

"Sweetheart, you ready?"

Felicity buttoned her jacket just as Donna walked inside, a cup of coffee in hand. "To see something other than the four walls of this majorly depressing, hospital room? That would be a yes."

"Speaking of which, how did you afford this room?" 

Felicity pursed her lips together and shrugged. "Perks of working at a fortune 500 I suppose."

Donna raised a perfectly manicured brow in disbelief, but before she could say anything more, John strolled inside.

"Alright, you're all set to leave. I have the car waiting out front." 

"Digg, I can drive. I'm not paralyzed." Felicity said in exasperation.

He scowled and glanced at her distracted mother fleetingly, before leaning in. "You were almost blown up and nearly choked to death. I'm driving you home." His tone was final.

Felicity sighed before giving him a pointed look. "Okay fine, but then you're going straight home to your daughter and your wife."

John gave a crooked smile. "She's not my wife yet."

* * *

Felicity, having spent the rest of the day at home with her mother, was reminded why she didn't have a roommate.

"Mom, for the gazillionth time, I'm fine! Please, just…go out… do something,  _anything._  I'll be fine. I'm in bed and I'm probably just going to read before taking a nap. _Nothing is going to happen_."

She looked hesitant, but eventually gave a relenting sigh. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry; I just want you to be comfortable. I'll just go and pop a movie or something."

"Hey." Felicity called out to her mother before she could leave. "Thanks…for being here."

Donna smiled. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be sweet pea. I'll be in the other room; holler if you need me."

She shut the door softly behind her and Felicity sighed in relief. It was hard to believe it had only been four days. Everything was still a whirlwind of confusion and Felicity really just needed a moment to process. Unfortunately, between sleeping off the medication and the constant visitors at the hospital, she hadn't had much time to herself.

Laurel had stopped by briefly and while Donna was busy chatting up the doctors, she had told her that Brick was being held by the SCPD and most of his street thugs were being prosecuted, thanks to the recovered documents.

_"I'll be able to build a case, now that we have the evidence."Laurel said determinedly. Felicity could understand her resolution. These men had terrorized so many people for weeks and held the city hostage while they'd tried and failed time and time again to locate and put a stop to Bricks plans. Their frustration had reached a breaking point before Felicity finally found a crack in their defenses._

_"What about Brick?"_

_"Don't worry about him. He's going to be stuck behind a prison cell for the rest of his life. I'm going to make sure of it."_

_Felicity didn't doubt it, but there was something else she needed to know._

_"So have you…is it…" She clenched her jaw, but didn't need to press further._

_Laurel smiled contentedly and grabbed her hand in a rare show of affection. Although cordial, the two girls had never been entirely close. "I told you he would come back He always does." She whispered simply, before squeezing her hand in a show of solidarity._

Felicity was startled back to the present when her phone vibrated. She took a breath to calm her nerves and took a quick glance at the text from Ray, before tossing the phone aside.

Felicity knew he was back. Although she hadn't seen his face, Felicity knew Oliver- knew him like she knew herself- and the man with the green arrows that night, could have been no one else but him.

But somehow it was still so surreal. She'd gone three weeks, believing-  _forcing herself_ \- to believe that he was dead. That he wasn't coming back. Fighting against her gut and her heart, she'd forced herself to accept the reality. But now here they were, with a giant hole blown in her beloved facts. She had so many questions, so many regrets and emotions.

_And anger._

Felicity knew she wouldn't truly believe it until she saw his face. But in order to see him, she had to be prepared for the onslaught of heartbreak and pain that would undoubtedly follow. So many nights she'd thought about what she would say if given the chance. What she would do if he appeared in front of her. But now that the opportunity was real, she had no idea.

There were so many moments when Felicity had thought about leaving the team, before and after his disappearance, but every time, something had pulled her back.  _He_  had pulled her back.

This time, she wasn't so sure.


	3. Revelations

"You know, it's really going to take some getting used to… seeing you here." Diggle said as he walked into the foundry, spotting Oliver hunched over Felicity's computers.

Oliver pushed his chair back and turned to face John. "Yeah, for me too." He raised his brow. "You're early. I wasn't expecting anyone for at least another couple of hours." He'd been digging through Felicity's system, trying to piece together everything he'd missed and everything the team had been working on since he'd left.

"Yeah, force of habit I guess." 

Oliver nodded. "I'm just trying to catch up. You guys have been busy. It looks like I've missed quite a bit." His frown lines deepened.

"Still reeling from your conversation with Laurel, I see?"

Oliver gave a snort of laughter lacking any amusement. "A conversation entails both parties to have some sort of understanding. I-

He let out a long breath and ran his hands across his face. "I don't understand anything about her decision to do this- why she's so hung up on trying to follow in Sara's footsteps. If anything, Sara's death should serve as a cautionary tale."

John leaned against the table and crossed his broad arms. "The death of someone close to you can make you do crazy things. Especially for someone like Laurel who lost Sara twice, both times helpless to do anything about it. You of all people should know that. I think she feels like Sara's death had to have served some kind of a purpose."

"What purpose will it have served if she seriously hurts herself, or worse, kills herself? Hasn't Lance lost enough?"

"A few weeks ago I would have agreed with you, but I've seen her determination Oliver. She's not the best fighter, but she's focused and she's ready to learn."

Oliver looked at John in frustration. "How are you okay with this?!"

"Because I've had time to process it and I've seen what she's capable of. You know I have your back at the end of the day. But this is something you and Laurel need to work out for yourselves."

"Am I interrupting?"

They looked up as Roy stepped down the stairs, watching them expectantly.

"No. How's Thea?" Oliver asked, effectively changing the subject.

"She's the same- burying herself in work for the club. I think she actually looked at me today, so I guess that's something."

Oliver's face fell.

"Still not speaking to you huh?" Digg asked.

He shook his head in aggravation. "No, I've tried."

"I'm sorry Oliver. After everything, I thought she deserved to know the truth. We thought you were…dead- didn't think it would matter anymore."

Oliver shook his head at Roy. "No, it's my fault. I should have told her sooner. She would have been angry, but at least I could have explained it to her. It would have been better coming from me. Maybe then, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have been so eager to run to Merlyn and he wouldn't have made her…" He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. Thea may have pulled the bow, but Malcolm Merlyn had killed Sara.

"It'll be alright. She needs time. Eventually she'll want answers and you're the only one who can give them to her." Digg said reassuringly

"I know. I just wish the answers were different. When she finds out about Sara…" He shuddered to think what it would do to her.

"She's stronger than you think Oliver."

" _It's true_."

Three heads looked up to find Felicity standing on the last few steps.

Oliver's eyes were wide as he gazed at her, like he couldn't determine whether she was real or not. She looked exactly the same, yet so different. For one, her eyes were more guarded; hardened by his death, no doubt, and all that she'd had to go through in the past few weeks.

Felicity's expression was much the same. She let out a disbelieving sound.

"You're alive."

Oliver's face was taut with both the apprehension of her reaction and the anticipation of seeing her again. There were so many different ways she could react. It was one of the things that attracted him most; her spontaneity and her ability to catch him off guard- something very few people could do anymore. At this very moment, however, it made him nervous.

He wasn't the only one. Both Diggle and Roy were frozen in anticipation of what she would do.  

Somehow, without her legs giving way, Felicity managed to climb down the last few steps, stopping just a few feet away.

"So you've been alive, all this time." She whispered.

"Yes."

"But you fought Ra's."

Oliver stood. "I did. I lost."

"He didn't kill you though."

Oliver could tell that she was becoming frustrated with the holes in the logic. He could practically see the cogs in her brain turning. If there was anything Felicity Smoak disliked most, it was an unsolved mystery.

"He didn't." 

She took a long breath. "And this is bad."

"This is bad." He acquiesced.

* * *

"I want to know everything." Felicity frowned, dropping her bag on the table. There was a very unsettling quality about the way she seemed to relax. No one was convinced.

"It's a long story." Oliver murmured.

"Well it looks like you've got time." She said, an undercurrent of venom laced itself through her words.

Roy flinched. There it was.

Digg cleared his throat. "I think Felicity's right. We're all here now; I think it's time we understood what was going on.

Oliver stared back apprehensively, submitting himself to the fact that John was right. It was time to bring them in.

He sat back down and bowed his head, resting his nose lightly over his fists. "I shouldn't be here. There is no reason that I should be alive. In fact, even after I woke up, I was still convinced that I was dead."

Felicity's breath caught.

"Ra's is…nothing that I have ever faced before. He's strong and fast, but more than that, he seems almost invincible. I was barely able to touch him, much less hurt him."

Diggle narrowed his eyes. "How is that possible? I've seen you put men twice your size down with one hand."

Oliver shook his head. "Ra's is a league of his own."

Felicity pushed aside the inappropriate urge to make a joke.

"So then how the hell are you alive?" Roy asked, horrified by the thought of someone so dangerous that even Oliver Queen could not touch.

"Because he intended for it, it's the only explanation. He had the perfect chance. He had a sword at my chest and instead, put it through my stomach; a man with his capabilities makes no mistake."

Felicity swallowed bile, recalling the bloody sword Malcolm Merlyn had delivered to them, as proof of Oliver's death.

"Maybe he's not as smart as you think. Or maybe he just counted on the fall off the cliff to finish the job. From the way Merlyn describes it, it was a pretty long way down."

Felicity glared at Roy as Oliver shook his head. "It was no accident; he doesn't want to kill me...not just yet anyway."

John folded his arms; the evidence of his unease was plastered over his face. "Maybe it was a test."

Oliver looked up. "That's what Maseo believes."

"Who?"

Oliver looked at Roy. "He was…  _my_  mentor. I met Maseo in Hong Kong five years ago. He's the one who rescued me."

"Wait, let me get this straight." Diggle uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. "Some guy you met in Hong Kong, found you on this godforsaken mountain, on the other side of the world, in the middle of nowhere?"

"I need to sit down." Felicity breathed, looking disturbingly pale and faint. Concern colored Oliver's face as Roy pushed an empty chair behind her in alarm.

"You need to rest, Felicity! You're still recovering. You shouldn't even be here." Oliver frowned.

She held up a hand. "I'm fine. Keep going."

He shot her one last burning look, before turning away.with reluctant compliance "He goes by the name Sarab now…it's Arabic for 'phantom'."

Diggle furrowed his brows. "Arabic? Then…"

Oliver steeled his shoulders.

"Maseo is a member of the League of Assassins."

Roy scoffed in disbelief while Diggle buried his head in his hands and groaned. "This is crazy. How the hell didn't we know you had a friend in the League of Assassins?"

"Because up until a few weeks ago, I'd thought he was dead. I had no idea he'd joined the League until I left to fight Ra's. He wasn't an assassin when I met him."

"How do you know that?" Digg pressed.

Oliver hesitated. "Because when I met him… he was an Argus agent. Maseo was my handler."


	4. Unthinkable

A heavy silence fell over the foundry.

"What?" Felicity breathed.

Oliver's head fell forward, while he deliberated his next words. "I told you before, there are things that happened in those five years that I'm not proud of. Things that are better left in the past. Everything that I did… none of it was good."

"But an agent." Felicity insisted disbelievingly. "A spy for  _Argus_ … who we've worked with before…  _the agency that tried to level the city and everyone in it._ "

Oliver's jaw tightened. "Like I said, I'm not proud of it, Felicity. I didn't have a choice at the time."

She shook her head in frustration, her ponytail lashing from side to side. "I  _know_  that!  _We_ know that! I have never judged anything you've told us that you had to do on that island. What makes you think this would be any different? I've never asked you to tell us any more than what you felt comfortable with, but this- _this_ we deserved to know."

Roy was too stunned to speak while Diggle's mind struggled to grapple with the fact that Oliver had worked for Argus. Been an agent for them.

"I always assumed you knew Waller, but I never imagined it was because you used to  _work for her_. Does Lyla…"

Oliver shook his head firmly. "No. No one knows. This was extremely covert." He sighed and then studied them remorsefully. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I kept this from you. I thought it would be better if you didn't know."

Felicity swallowed the swell in her throat and looked away, missing the way Oliver's shoulder slumped forward. "Before he was taken away, Maseo became a good friend to me. I didn't see him again after Hong Kong and after certain events, I assumed he died. But he was with us… during the fight and he found me on the mountain afterwards. He took me back to-

He paused. "Back to a deserted cabin and healed me." He hadn't lied. Simply omitted some truth. Tatsu's involvement was already a great risk to her life.  

"It took time for me to heal well enough to make the journey back to Starling. That's why I wasn't able to come back immediately." Another lie. 

This one, they saw through. He should have expected it. There were very select people in the world who truly knew him, all of whom stood in this room.

"It didn't take you  _four weeks_  to recover Oliver. You've had serious injuries before and you're usually back on your feet, throwing people twice your size across the room, the next day." Diggle argued.

"This was different." Oliver argued. It was futile and he knew it. Even to his own ears, his argument was weak. 

"You weren't going to come back…were you?" Felicity realized instantly, knowing with absolute certainty that she was right. 

He sighed heavily, rubbing his fingers together nervously. "No. No I wasn't. Not until I'd learned Ra's' intentions. Not until I was completely positive that Thea and the city… and all of you, were safe. But then Maseo told me what was happening here."

"So you came back." Digg finished.

"So I came back." Oliver affirmed.

Felicity blinked back tears. She would not cry. She had cried enough.

Oliver's eyes flashed remorsefully. "I'm sorry." 

* * *

They remained silent for a few moments, absorbing and trying to understand all the information that had been shared. They all understood the implications of Ra's as a threat, but there were other things to process as well, especially for Felicity.

Digg motioned subtly to Roy and he understood it to mean Oliver and Felicity needed some time alone. "We'll be upstairs." John said, squeezing Felicity's shoulder in silent support as they passed.

Finally alone, the air between them bristled with energy and unfulfilled promises.

"You let us believe you were  _dead_." Felicity finally whispered. "And if it hadn't been for Brick, you would have continued letting us believe it."

"I didn't see another choice."

Felicity's eyes flashed. "Didn't s- didn't see another choice?!" She cried disbelievingly. All the pent up frustration over his utter lack of self preservation and the complexity of her own confounding feelings for him, bubbled to the surface   

"After everything that we've been through as a team, after everything we've accomplished together, you didn't see another choice other than to let your friends and your sister think you were dead?!" She gave a short and humorless laugh.

"I don't even know what to say Oliver. I'm actually speechless."

"I never meant to hurt you-

" _You never do!_ That's the thing, Oliver! You never  _mean_  to hurt anyone. Yet it just happens. You know why? Because you never people make their own decisions. It's always your call. Well here's a reality check, Oliver. Sometimes your call sucks!"

His eyes widened and Felicity forced herself to take a calming breath.

"Do you think it's easy for us to stand by and let you make decisions for us? It's not. But we trust you. Trust you implicitly to do what's right-for the team. But Oliver, I don't know if I do anymore."

Oliver felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.

"You know, when you told me you loved me the night of the siege, I knew it was unthinkable. You and I, we're just so _different_ and…" She swallowed and avoided looking into Oliver's indecipherable gaze. This wasn't the first time they'd discussed that night, but it was the first time Felicity allowed him to see how affected she'd been.

"But I trusted you, so much, that it didn't even occur to me that you could lie about that. So I let myself believe that maybe…" She gave a sigh of frustration, the disappointment she'd felt that night, coursed through her.

"Then you handed me the cure and I understood what you'd had to do, what  _you_  trusted  _me_  to do. So I spent the entire summer convincing myself that our relationship wasn't broken or strained, because you hadn't actually taken advantage of my trust, you'd just trusted me enough to understand- which I did. This summer I made peace with the fact that we would never be anything more, but then you dangled it in my face, only to take it away again." By now, Felicity's cheeks were wet and she was standing in front of Oliver, almost a foot shorter than him.

"You broke my heart Oliver, because you took away my decision and you treated me as something less than your partner. You didn't trust me enough to make my own decision. You thought that by pushing me away, you were protecting me, but in the end, you hurt me more than anyone else ever could. You don't know how many times I wished we hadn't gone on that date. I could have accepted the fact that you didn't feel the same. But then you kissed me and you made me feel..." Felicity breathed. _"God,_ like no one ever has. I was ready to leave. I almost did. I didn't know if I could continue to work with you, but as much as you and I together were unthinkable, being apart from you was even more unthinkable. I tried to convince myself that a relationship between us could never happen; I didn't want to be a woman you loved, not anymore, because it hurt so much." Felicity gave a sob and Oliver could do nothing but miserably realize the depth of how much pain he'd caused the one person he never wanted to hurt.

"Then four weeks ago you told me you loved me. You said what I realized I wanted to hear for so long…regardless of everything… and then you died."

Her voice broke.

"And I never got to say it back."

Oliver finally gathered her in his arms, holding her gently as she cried. "You never had to." He whispered hoarsely.

* * *

They stayed like that for while; maybe five minutes, or perhaps five hours, but when Felicity finally pulled away, it was far too soon. Their eyes met fleetingly, before Felicity turned away. "I should go. My mom is waiting for me at home. I just wanted to see…to know for myself."

He nodded and moved his thumb hesitantly over her damp cheeks and then paused, before dipping to the marks still visible on her throat. "I'm sorry. I should have gotten there sooner. I should have been here." His voice was choked with guilt.

"I'm fine." She whispered automatically- out of habit.

His eyes were sad. "Are we?"

She looked up into his blue eyes and searched for answers. Searched for something that would make her believe she could trust him again. Trust him so implicitly that she could run around with him every night, fighting dangerous criminals and yet feel completely protected. There was something different about his eyes, less intense, less angry and guarded. "You once told me I wouldn't lose you." She whispered.

"You won't." He murmured.

"I don't know that anymore." She said softly, before pulling away from him and away from the foundry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to have at least two chapters posted a day. 
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	5. A Team Divided

Roy, Diggle and Oliver sat in the Foundry in silence. After Felicity's abrupt departure, Roy and Diggle had given Oliver a few moments to himself, before joining him again. They'd both seen the distress on Felicity's face as she rushed out of the club and the question now remained.  _Was Felicity coming back?_

Oliver didn't know the answer. He didn't know anything anymore, except that he felt hollow, like someone had scooped out his insides.

"What's going to happen now?" Roy finally asked, unable to endure the silence anymore.

As if having just realized their presence, Oliver looked up. "I don't know." He said after a beat.

"You're staying, right? I mean, I know you didn't want to come back…but-"

Oliver shook his head at Roy. "No, I'm not leaving. But if there's anything that I've learned from this, it's that you guys are more than capable, whether I'm here or not."

"We can't do this without Felicity." Roy muttered.

Oliver looked at over at Digg who continued to remain silent.

"Being here…it has always been her decision and her decision alone." Oliver said. He bowed his head. "I will never take that decision away from her. No matter how much we need her."

* * *

"It's been three hours and you still haven't said anything." Oliver murmured, bringing a glass of whiskey to his lips. He and Diggle were sitting at the bar of Verdant, watching as employees prepared for the first big reopening after Bricks terror run. Thea had disappeared somewhere after spotting her brother.

Oliver sighed. He'd been back less than a week and already managed to drive away every woman in his life. The truth was Felicity was right. In trying to protect them, he'd hurt both Thea and Felicity so irrevocably- or so Oliver thought- and if his argument with Laurel was anything to go by, she was pretty damn angry with him as well.

"There's nothing I can say that you're not already thinking."

Oliver gave a dry laugh.

Digg swiveled his glass. "I can tell you you're an asshole, if it makes you feel any better."

Oliver cleared his throat. "I think Felicity covered that."

Digg snorted. "She's too nice to say that…to your face anyway." He set his glass down and met Oliver's gaze. "We'll find out what Ra's is planning Oliver, and if we have to, we'll find a way to take him down- we always do. But ask yourself this, what are you willing to risk in the process? When the war is done and the dust has settled, what do you have left to come home to?"

Oliver could not find an answer to that.

* * *

"And then the waiter flew over and did the chicken dance."

Felicity hummed in acknowledgement, jumping when her chair suddenly swiveled around. Ray looked down at her in exasperation.

"Really?!" He crossing his arms, while looming over her chair. "You haven't been listening to a single thing I've said, have you?"

Felicity blushed. "I _have!"_

He raised his brow. "Uh-huh. Was that before or after I mentioned the flying waiter and the talking dog?"

She mustered a sheepish smile. "Okay guilty, but in my defense, I  _was_  recently hospitalized you know. I'm in an extremely vulnerable state right now."

He snorted. "I have a hard time putting you and vulnerable in the same category. What's going on?"

Felicity sighed. "It's nothing, just some…personal stuff." She motioned to her brain. "Too much thinking."

Rays eyes were disbelieving, but he dropped the subject nonetheless. "Well, as I was saying, you'll be happy to know that the suit isn't coming along." He held out a small object.

Felicity sat back in her chair. "The nanite chip."

"Exactly. See, in order to creating a fully functioning power suit, I need a nanite chip...preferably one that works because- well- this one doesn't."

"Have you ever thought that maybe this is a sign? That maybe you're not meant to be some real life version of Tony Stark?"

Ray scowled. "I resent that. My suit is much cooler."

"Your suit doesn't work." Felicity answered pointedly.

"Ouch. You're particularly sassy today."

Felicity shook her head with a sigh. "I have a bunch of stuff to get done Ray, things that are actually related to Palmer Technologies. So if you want to keep this company, I suggest you let me do it."

Ray shoved his hand into his pocket and nodded dejectedly. "Alright, I know when to take a hint. But I still think that this suit is the best chance I have of making this city a safer place...for everyone, and you're the best chance I have of making it work...so..." He shrugged and when Felicity said nothing in return, he sighed and left the office.

Felicity watched him turn the corner and rubbed her hands over her face in frustration. She didn't know how, but at some point- between binging on Netflix and mint chocolate ice cream in her spare time and being a plain old IT girl- it seemed she'd become the walking version of a 'How to Become a Superhero, for (Masochistic and Suicidal) Dummies'.

She thought about the well deserved bottle of Pinot Noir sitting in her apartment, before throwing herself back into the pile of paperwork on her desk.

* * *

"Sweetheart?"

Felicity looked up from her kitchen table, finding that after five (rather large) glasses of wine, her vision had turned a bit fuzzy. "Oh hey mom, I didn't even hear you come in."

Donna raised her brow warily and turned the light on. "Yeah I got that. You seem preoccupied."

Felicity sighed. "Long day."

"Uh-huh." She set her purse down before walking over to a cupboard, grabbing a wine glass for herself and joining Felicity at the table. "Hit me."

Felicity smiled and poured a glass for her mother, before topping her own glass off.

"You look tired. Are you sure you should be working so hard, so soon after being released from the hospital?"

"You heard the doc, said it was fine for me to go back to work." She shrugged.

"Yes, but I don't think he meant working overtime."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I'm fine mom, just tired."

Donna eye balled her daughter for a few moments before conceding. "Alright, alright, as long as you know what you're comfortable with." She sipped delicately from her glass before clearing her throat. "So did you want to tell me what's been bothering you lately?"

Felicity frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart, you're sitting in the dark- almost halfway through a bottle of wine."

"It's really good wine." Felicity said defensively. "And... I like the dark..." She trailed off.

Donna gave her a look. "Honey, I got mothers intuition from here to Texas. I know when something's wrong." She reached for Felicity's hand and squeezed gently.

"You don't have to tell me, but I'm here to listen- whenever you need me." She smiled.

Felicity squeezed back in response. "Thanks mom." She blinked at her mother. "You know... I'm glad you're here."

"You're such a strong woman; but to me you'll always be my little girl."

"Sometime I wish I still was a little girl." Felicity said wistfully, gazing off.

Donna chuckled. "Yeah, being a grown-up can really suck."

"Tell me about it." Felicity muttered. She looked down at her glass and sighed.

"So what's his name?"

Felicity looked up in surprise. "What?"

"-the man who's got you so torn up. I recognize heartache when I see it. Love's a tricky thing. It can make you feel high as a cloud one second, and then ruin you the next."

Felicity scoffed. "Mom, I'm not-

"-in love?" Donna smiled knowingly.

Felicity's head spun and something told her the wine had nothing to do with it. Was she in love with Oliver? She loved him, sure. She always would. But how could she still be in love with someone who continued to hurt her (albeit unintentionally) and push her away. It was so difficult to recognize what love even meant anymore.

She'd though her father had loved her- before he left. She'd even been convinced she loved Cooper, and then he'd gone and faked his death, only to come back, hellbent on using her super-virus for his own personal pay-out- Starling City be damned. And then there was Oliver. Oliver, who she'd admired, respected and trusted from the moment he'd stepped into her office. Why else would she have blindly helped him when he'd been so obviously lying about his true intentions? Somewhere along the way, she'd allowed herself to become more emotionally involved than she'd ever been with anyone since her father had left, and somewhere along the way, she'd fallen in love with him.

_You never had to._  Oliver had said to her, when she confessed her guilt over not saying 'I love you' back. For weeks she'd tortured herself with the possibility that maybe he would have stayed if she'd admitted her own feelings. Felicity closed her eyes shut and blew out a breath of frustration.

_But then what?_

No. Oliver had made his decision. A decision to be the Arrow above Oliver Queen. A decision to commit himself fully to the safety of the city. And a decision to fight Ra's Al Ghul for Thea's innocence.

Now Felicity had to make a decision.

* * *

Oliver knocked twice before pushing the door open and sticking his head inside. He spotted Thea on the sofa, a book nestled comfortably in her lap. "Hey, can I come in?" He asked softly.

Thea didn't bother to look up. "This is your house too." She muttered.

Oliver stepped inside and closed the door softly behind him. "I didn't know if I was still welcome."

Thea scoffed. "I kinda figured that when I realized you hadn't been here in a week. Or does the  _Arrow_ just not require sleep?"

Oliver pursed his lips. "You said you didn't want to see me. I wanted to stay out of your way for a while… let you process things."

Thea closed her book shut and threw it down on the sofa, before getting up to leave.

"Thea wait-

"For what, Ollie? It's a little too late for the truth." She scoffed. "Do you even know what that is anymore?"

Oliver looked down. "You're right. I lied to you and I kept things from you, even after I promised I would be open and honest. It was wrong- I was wrong. But it was never about wanting to keep secrets. All I've ever wanted to do is protect you."

"When will you realize, Ollie? I can protect myself. I never needed your protection; I just needed your trust." She shook her head sadly. "But I realize now that I never really had it."

Oliver watched her disappear up the steps, his heart sinking hopelessly deeper.

* * *

"Okay so what do we have?" Oliver asked as he walked into the foundry. Both Roy and Digg were hunched over a pile of files.

He'd woken up that morning to find Thea had already left. He hadn't been surprised, given their interaction the night before, nevertheless, Digg's text to meet him at the foundry had been a welcome distraction.

"Gifts from Detective Lance, Laurel dropped them off early this morning. It's information on all the outstanding thugs from Brick's crew. SCPD haven't been able to locate them; Lance thought maybe we'd have better luck." Roy scowled at the pile of files. They had detained a majority of Brick's men, but there were still more files than they expected.

Oliver sighed as he flipped through a few of them at random. "All these criminals we put away- back out into the streets."

"We caught them before, we can do it again." John reassured.

Oliver nodded slowly. "Keep an ear out for any 911 calls and give me some addresses. I'll try to case known locations. That's all we can do for now."

"We could ask-

_"No."_  Oliver's answer came out harsher then he'd intended. He cleared his throat. "No. We leave Felicity out of this- for now. "

Roy turned to Digg for support, but realized he wouldn't be getting it.

"He's right Roy; it's not fair to drag her in again if she's not ready to come back."

Roy huffed in frustration. "How can we be sure, if no one's even spoken to her?!"

John frowned. "Hey, I get that you're upset, I am too, but there's nothing we can do right now."

" _Like hell there isn't_!"

Oliver narrowed his eyes, taken aback by Roy's reaction.

"Look, you're always saying that you refuse to give up on me." Roy shook his head. "Well now it just feels like you're giving up on her."

Oliver furrowed his brows. The notion that he would ever- _could ever_ \- give up on Felicity Smoak was almost laughable. "No one is giving up on her."

Roy scoffed. "You don't get it." He stalked off, disappearing into the shadows of the foundry.

Oliver pursed his lips, avoiding John's gaze. He knew what he'd find. Instead he flipped through the files, opened one at random, waved it in John's direction and set it on Felicity's worktable.

"Richard Ryder."

* * *

Felicity was leaving the office late, for the fifth consecutive evening that week, but this time, as she exited the building, she found one Roy Harper seated outside.

He sprung up from the steps and bounced on the balls of his feet, hands buried deep in his pockets. "Hey."

After getting over the initial shock of finding her fellow crime fighting friend sitting outside her day job, she furrowed her brows and looked around, half expecting Oliver and Digg to pop out of the bushes. The thought made her snort a little bit.

"How late does Palmer keep you? Jeez, it's like-

He glanced at his watch (Felicity was mildly surprised at this) and made a face. "Ten."

Felicity raised her brow incredulously. "Roy- why are you sitting out here- how long have you been here?!"

He shrugged simply. "Waiting for you."

Felicity shook her head in exasperation. "First of all- that is extremely creepy." She said as she proceeded to walk towards her car, Roy followed behind quickly. "Second of all,  _Ray_ doesn't keep me, my work does, and third-

She whirled around.

" _What are you doing here_?"

He stopped abruptly, almost knocking into her. His face was a comical and rather adorable mix of sheepishness and nonchalance. "I dunno, you haven't come around the club lately and I...I missed hearing your annoying blabbing about things I don't understand."

Felicity smiled. "I miss you too, you idiot. But next time come up to my office instead of lurking around the building. It's weird."

He smirked. "Noted."

Felicity paused at her car before rolling her eyes. "Get in." She sighed, before throwing the passenger door open.

* * *

Felicity moaned. "I haven't had a proper meal in days!" She leaned back against the booth and rubbed her belly. Roy surveyed the damage and snorted. "I can tell, you ate half the table."

She shot him a glare. "I was hungry- and I did not!"

He snickered and picked at the remaining California rolls. "So... how have you been?"

Felicity shrugged. "Fine, working a lot."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. You sure you're not pushing it a little?"

Felicity raised her brow. "What is this, an intervention- because if it is- you're going to need to bribe me with more sushi." She waved her chopsticks at him warningly.

"I just mean maybe you're working so much to keep your mind off of other... stuff." He trailed off.

"Uh-huh, and by other stuff you mean saving the world with you guys."

Roy smiled. "Just Starling City."

Felicity sighed. "Listen, I'm working a lot because it's my job, I'm not avoiding Verdant, if that's what you're implying. I just need some space from the foundry."

"Something tells me it's not the foundry you need space from." He leaned forward. "We need you-  _all_  of us. We can't do this without you."

Felicity looked away from his puppy dog eyes (they reminded her so much of Oliver) and gestured for the check. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

* * *

Felicity drove up to the curb outside Roy's house and shot him a smile. "No more lurking. I'll see you later."

He nodded and stepped out, shutting the car door softly behind him. Felicity rolled down the window before he could walk away. "Hey-

Roy turned around and leaned forward curiously.

"If you ever need anything, you know you can call me."

He gave a crooked smile. "Back at you."

Felicity watched him enter his house before driving off, decidedly happier and lighter than she'd felt in a while.

* * *

"Check Anton Price off the list." Oliver grunted, hanging his bow.

John swiped the monitor and watched as another name disappeared. "That's two guys in one day, impressive- even by your standards."

"Ryder was careless and sloppy and Roy's intel on Price paid off. We got lucky."

Digg shrugged. "Victory dance for one then."

Oliver gave a tight smile. "I don't dance, remember?"

"Right. Well I'm going to take off."

Oliver nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. "Go home to your family Digg."

"Speaking of family, have you spoken to yours?" John asked as he pulled his jacket on.

"I tried- last night. It didn't really go anywhere."

"Right, well, give her more time. Eventually she'll decide that she's ready to hear your story."

Oliver scoffed and leaned against the medical table, crossing his legs at his ankles. "Let's hope that happens before I'm ten feet below ground."

"Yeah well, knowing you, that could very well be tomorrow." Digg called out as he climbed the stairs.

Oliver chuckled and shook his head. He rubbed at his chest absently.


	6. If The Suit Fits

It was raining when Felicity drove home. She'd dropped her mother off at the airport and the weather seemed to be taking notes from the surprising emotions that had nestled themselves into her heart.

It hadn't been until they'd reached the security checkpoint that she'd realized how much she would miss having her mother around.

_"Well this is me." Donna said, snapping Felicity out of her internal airport musings. It had always been something of fascination to Felicity, that thousands of people- converged in one building- would end up in different corners of the world by dinner._

_A large billboard of an airplane had made her grimace in distaste. Some people enjoyed the thought of getting on a giant steel contraption that somehow hurdled through the air at incredible speeds._

_She was just not one of them._

_Felicity's face held the ghost of her aversion as she blinked at her mother, suddenly dawning on her, that her mother was leaving. Felicity threw her arms around Donna and buried her face in her mother's hair." I'll miss you mom."_

_She heard Donna sniff. "I miss you already baby girl. Promise me you'll come to visit."_

_Felicity swallowed the swell in her throat, thinking about her childhood home in Vegas and what it meant to go back there. The bleak and lifelessness of the city when all the glitz and glamour of the night passed and the streets were exposed to the harsh reality of poverty and prostitution. "I'll see you soon."_

_It wasn't necessarily a promise to visit. Donna sensed this, but nodded nonetheless. "I love you."_

_"Love you too mom, thank you- for everything- and for coming all the way up here and taking care of me."_

_Donna pulled away to look at her. "I'll always take care of you. You're my baby girl."_

After that Donna had disappeared behind the security screen.

Felicity sighed and spent the rest of the ride home wondering if her favorite Chinese restaurant delivered on Saturdays.

* * *

"Lunch anyone?"

Felicity looked up from her computer with a start, before smiling.

"Ugh thanks Jerry, take an extra fifteen minutes today." She eyed the bag of food with an almost ravenous hunger as her assistant set it on the table. She took her glasses off and rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes.

Jerry watched her with her frown. "I think that maybe you should do the same."

Felicity gave a breath of laughter. "Yes mother."

He shot her a crooked smile before leaving the office for lunch. Felicity sighed and took out a container of noodles and then leaned back in her chair as she forked some in her mouth. She took a moment to enjoy the feeling of food going into her empty stomach before clicking a link on her desktop.

Starling City news flooded her screen and she read the latest reports involving the SCPD's apprehension of three more of Brick's men. It seemed as if Team Arrow had been busy. In the last two weeks, six of the outstanding criminals were back in police custody. Laurel made sure to keep her up to date, but even if she hadn't, it was all over the news.

"Miss Smoak?"

Felicity looked up and recognized Ray's assistant. She held a hand over the door in mid knock.

"Oh Rachel, hi." She gave an awkward wave.

Rachel frowned and nodded towards Jerry's desk on the other side of the glass paneling. "Sorry, I didn't see anyone at the front."

Felicity shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Jerry's just on lunch. What's up?"

"Well...um..." She cleared her throat. "I was hoping you could find Mister Palmer."

Felicity's forehead wrinkled in bemusement. "Come again?"

* * *

"Open up Palmer, I know you're in there!" Felicity knocked forcibly against the large doors of Ray Palmer's suite over the Palmer Tech building.

The door opened so suddenly that Felicity almost tripped inside. When she was certain she was not going to face plant on the dark hardwood flooring (it was very nice flooring). She looked up and faced a very tired looking, yet still unfairly attractive, oddly casual and unshaven version of her boss. "Oh good, you're not dead."

Felicity huffed and pushed her way inside, face twisting as she sniffed the air. "But  _something_  definitely died.  _Ugh_ , what  _is_  that?"

"My ego." Ray muttered.

Felicity blinked at him. _"Uh-huh._ Why don't  _you_ -

She plucked the wrench and another dangerous looking object out of his hands. "Just give me those."

Almost zombie-like, Ray turned around and slumped over his worktable, which was cluttered with various metal parts and blueprints. "I am officially the world's most hopeless genius."

"Ray, what the heck is going on?! Your assistant says that you've been MIA for the past  _five_  days. You realize you've missed two very important meetings with your Japanese and Russian subsidiaries. You're the  _CEO_ , you can't  _do_  that?"

"What's the point of owning a tech company when I can't even get a damn nanite chip to work?" Ray scoffed.

Felicity stalked towards him and grabbed his face between her hands. "Okay, listen to me Ray, you need sleep." She sniffed again. "And probably a shower."

"I'm not tired."

Felicity scowled. "Like hell you're not. You're delirious!"

Ray pulled away and straightened, swaying on his feet. He made a face. "Oh, that's probably not good."

"Bed. Now."

* * *

Ray strolled out of his bedroom five and a half hours later, shaven, showered and looking decidedly more rested. He spotted Felicity sitting at his workstation, tapping away at the computer.

"Hey."

She turned around. "Oh look, it's Ray Palmer, for a moment there I wasn't sure."

Ray gave a breath of laughter and ran a hand through his hair. "I feel better. Thank you Felicity."

She shot him a crooked smile before dropping something in his hand. Ray picked it up and analyzed it with furrowed brows. Felicity stood slowly. "The reason you couldn't get the nanite chip to work, was because you actually needed a quantum processor." She watched as Ray continued to stare at it in wonder.

He finally looked up, eyes wide. "I-

Felicity sighed. "If I help you with this... you have to  _promise_ , that you will continue your role as CEO of Palmer Tech to your fullest potential. There's a lot of good this company can do, but that can't happen unless you're dedicated to it just as equally as you are to the power suit."

He laughed disbelievingly and smiled in appreciation. "I promise."

Felicity nodded. "Good."

He stared down at the small object in his hand before looking up again. "What changed?" He called as she made her way towards the door.

She turned around slowly. "Just call it a need to help the people I care about. I don't want to see you get hurt. God knows I've lost way too many people already. But the thing is, with my help, you might just stand a chance." She shrugged.

"Felicity." He called again, catching her just before she closed the door shut behind her. She looked back expectantly.

"You're amazing... you know that?"

Felicity smiled, closing the door shut behind her.

* * *

Oliver was antsy. He knew it, Roy knew it and Diggle knew it. Hell, the coffee barista he'd growled at this morning probably knew it.

It had been all too easy to bury himself back into the routine of crime-fighting and training, but the more time passed, the more restless he became and the more Felicity's empty chair glared at him mockingly, like a beacon of his failures. Her presence had always had a soothing effect on him. Her endless optimism and her blunt awkwardness served as a reprieve from the darkness that took hold of his heart every so often, not to mention her refusal to take his bullshit and habit of calling him out on his moronic tendencies was refreshing and stimulating. He missed that. He missed  _her_.

His fist struck the punching bag stronger than he'd intended and (distracted as he was) at the wrong angle. Pain shot down his torso and seared across his wound as the bag unhinged itself and toppled to the ground.

His breath hissed through gritted teeth.

"You okay?"

Oliver turned around and frowned at Laurel. "I'm fine." He muttered. His eyes traveled to the fresh cast on her hand. "I should ask you the same. Something tells me that  _that_  is not from signing legal documents."

Laurel glanced down at her wrist before tucking it behind her back. "Yeah..." She trailed off awkwardly. The duo had managed to come to an agreement. Oliver (with some convincing from Roy) had eased up, while Laurel had promised she wouldn't do any field work until Grant decided she was ready. She still needed a lot more training, but even Oliver couldn't deny that she was growing stronger. Her determination was unwavering and Oliver respected that, even if he didn't understand or agree with it.

"Do you have any leads?" Oliver asked, massaging his arm. He winced as his wound gave another throb.

Laurel's eyes narrowed in concern as she glanced at his chest. He was wearing a shirt but he knew she was looking for the site of his injury.

"No leads, just some unfiltered information and chatter. She took out a folder and handed it to him." She paused.

"I was thinking I'd ask Felicity to do a quick sweep of the information. Maybe she can find something that could be of use."

Oliver looked up from the file and pursed his lips, nodding briskly. "Do what you need to do. Just get me some leads that pan out."

Laurel nodded, encouraged by his sudden open mindedness. "She's been really busy lately, but I'm sure she can find something. If there's anyone who's good at finding buried information, it's Felicity."

Oliver nodded mutely.

Laurel cleared her throat, recognizing the potential awkwardness of the situation. "Anyway, I should get going. I'll call you when I get something."

She didn't wait for his response before walking off. Oliver rubbed his face tiredly, wishing that there was a penicillin tea for his emotions.

* * *

"So if I just reboot the main sensory system, it should...damn it!"

Ray scowled as sparks flew from his helmet.

Felicity looked up from her computer and raised an incredulous brow. "I don't think that should be going on your head- unless you plan on adding a fire extinguisher to the suit- _huh_ , there's an idea."

He scratched his head. "I don't understand, it should have worked, the gauntlets are functional and I've checked the sensory system."

Felicity looked back at her screen. "I think I have your answer."

Ray leaned over her shoulder and squinted in concentration at the blueprints. "I think if you reroute the sensory module and increase the broadband to the helmet system-

Felicity's fingers flew over the keyboard and with a few strokes, the screen shifted and a three dimensional image of the A.T.O.M suit materialized. "-voila!"

"Incredible." Ray breathed.

Felicity smirked. "I do my best."

Ray grinned down at her. "I was actually talking about the suit, but you're not too bad yourself, I guess."

It dawned on Felicity that they were incredibly close to flirt territory. She cleared her throat and looked away immediately.

Her cheeks felt strangely warm.

She popped her lips and pushed her glasses over the bridge of her nose.

"Well then, let's see if it works."

* * *

"Ray, did you speak to R and D about the new encryption software yet? They said they wanted to discuss some things." Felicity typed a few notes on her phone before bringing her attention back to the desktop. She yawned. It was late and she'd come up to Ray's apartment to help him with the suit after calling it a day at the office. Of course, technically, she was still  _at_  the office. She really needed some new hobbies.

Felicity turned around.

"Ray did you hear- whoa." Felicity's eyes were wide as he stepped into the room, clad in the suit. His entire body was covered in blue and red armor, while his head was partially covered with the helmet, a clear visor shielded his eyes.

"Well, it fits." Ray said, his lips turning up at the corner.

Felicity let out a breath. "Uh... yeah- wow." Her expression was unreadable.

Ray lifted his helmet and gently placed it to the side. "You don't look too excited."

Felicity shook her head and attempted a smile. "No- I mean I am...it's just-

She cleared her throat. "I can't believe you actually did it."

"We did it." Ray reminded her with a smile.

Felicity bit her lip. "Yeah."

* * *

Felicity couldn't sleep.

After they'd tested the suit (minus the lasers- she wasn't very eager to get her head blown off) and everything seemed relatively functional and  _not_  self destructive, she'd called it a night.

At the time, Felicity had filed away her apprehension about physically seeing Ray inside the suit, in favor of sharing his excitement and pride, but the truth of the matter was, lying in her bed, nothing about it seemed the least bit exciting. Instead, all Felicity could focus on was the suits vulnerability and Ray lying unconscious under a pile of destroyed armor.

She growled in frustration and whacked her pillow a few times before rearranging her position. A quick glance at the clock told her it was three in the morning, giving her only three more hours before she had to be up for work again.

Felicity stared up at the ceiling and scowled. "Frack."


	7. The Promise of Tomorrow

Oliver gasped awake and bolted upright, clutching at a spot right below his chest. His sheets were drenched with sweat and he scowled when he spotted a dark stain against the white cotton. His wound had reopened-  _again_.

"Damn it." He spat, sliding to the edge of the bed before limping towards the bathroom. He switched the light on and leaned against the counter. The cold surface felt nice on his flushed skin. He kept his head bowed, eyes avoiding the mirror. Eventually, as his breathing became even, his knuckles loosened around the edge of the counter and regained some color. Oliver turned on the sink and splashed cold water over his face.

He took a deep breath and looked up. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was drained of color. Lower down, the skin around his injury was an angry shade of red, with dried blood over the gash. He sighed, at least most of the sutres had held, this time.

Images of his nightmare threatened to break through his mental barriers as he wiped the wound clean, stitched up the small opening and applied a topical paste; but the pain numbed his thoughts. Stepping out of the bathroom, his eyes traveled to the small clock on his nightstand, where 3 AM glowed red. He sighed and scowled at the thought that he had to endure another few hours of his demons.

* * *

Felicity stood in front of her coffee maker, grieving and desolate.

She'd woken up that morning, terribly cranky and in dire need of caffeine-  _lots of caffeine_. As luck would have it, she was out of coffee and shit out of luck.

There was also nothing in her fridge, except some old take-out, moldy cheese and a half empty bottle of wine.

In other words, she was doing great for herself.

Felicity groaned. Between putting additional hours at Palmer Tech and helping Ray with the A.T.O.M suit, she'd completely forgotten about normal human things, such as grocery shopping.

"Great going, Smoak." She muttered under her breath.

With one last sigh, she closed her depressing fridge shut, grabbed her purse and marched out the door.

* * *

"You're late."

Felicity's responding glare could have powered the lasers on Ray's suit. He held his hands up and shot her a toothy grin. "I'm only kidding. I actually wasn't expecting you to come in until this afternoon. We were up pretty late last night."

Felicity eyed him suspiciously. With his legs propped over her desk and his smile appearing to be permanently fixed on his face, he looked entirely too relaxed and not at all like someone who'd spent the majority of the night testing his new super suit.

"What kind of caffeine are you on and where can I get some?" She demanded.

He dropped his legs back to the ground and stood. "No caffeine, just adrenaline...well maybe a little caffeine." He shrugged. "You look like you could use both." He made a face. "Not that you look bad, just tired- but a good tired. Does that make sense? Huh."

Felicity fanned her fingers against her temple. "Nothing about this morning is making sense." She moaned.

Ray cleared his throat. "Right. I'll just go and get Jerry to grab you some coffee."

Felicity dropped into her chair as Ray left and allowed her head to fall on the table. It seemed that it was going to be a long day.

* * *

As fate would have it, Felicity's prediction was right and 'long day' came in the form of one district attorney, Laurel Lance.

"Miss Smoak, DA Laurel Lance is here to see you."

Felicity looked up in surprise and watched Laurel breeze inside her office. The willowy brunette raised her brow as she took in Felicity's slumped posture, one hand clutching a cup of coffee like a life preserver, while the other was tangled in her hair.

"You look like hell." Laurel stated in her typical lawyer-y no-nonsense bluntness.

Jerry shot Felicity an apologetic shrug through the glass wall.

"Did we have a meeting?" Felicity asked, frantically trying to remember if she'd missed something on her calendar.

Laurel closed the door shut before falling into the chair across Felicity's desk. "I have a favor to ask." She glanced at the intercom system. "Is that off?"

Felicity nodded. "I take it you're not here as the DA then."

"Not quite. Look, I know that you're taking time off from...nightlife, but we really need your help."

Felicity frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"None of us are hurt or dying, if that's what you're asking, but no, it's not okay." She reached into her bag and took out a USB, passing it over the table.

Felicity plugged it into the computer and watched as a file of a man named Henric Rosco appeared on her screen. Her brows furrowed. "Rosco... why does that name sound familiar?"

"Probably, because he's the scum bag who ran a prostitution ring in Starling five years ago."

Felicity's eyes widened. Of course. How could she have forgotten? The trial for Henric Rosco's sentence had been widely broadcast- second only to Moira Queens trial last year. He'd become a household name and cause for many riots at the courthouse for the heinous crimes he'd been convicted of committing.

"How the heck did he get out?" Felicity breathed.

"He was due for parole, for good behavior." Laurel answered with contempt. Felicity's expression mirrored her disdain.

"That's-

"Ridiculous, I know. But the evidence against him to begin with was shaky at best. After Brick stole everything, the case against Rosco was blown wide open."

Felicity took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. "Let me guess, he's one of the thugs who got away."

Laurel frowned and leaned forward. "We've had speculation, rumors and leads that held less than running water, but nothing solid. Oliver and Roy are casing every known location of his and coming up empty." She nodded towards the computer screen.

"That's everything we have on him, but there's no way we can find something credible before he goes completely underground. You are the only one I know who can search through all that information and find him quickly enough."

Felicity scrolled through the files, eyes hardening after each victims name and picture. Finally she looked up with a steely resolve.

"I'll call you as soon as I find something."

* * *

Digg was preparing them with ingress and egress points to a building where known gang members who'd interacted with Rosco before his time in jail, were operating, when Laurel's phone began to beep. She glanced at the screen before quickly picking up.

"You found something?"

Oliver, Digg and Roy looked up.

"Yeah, they're here, hang on." She replied to the voice on the phone, before hitting the speaker button. "Go."

Felicity's voice immediately rang through the Foundry. "Okay, so Henric Rosco's been extremely careful not to use anything that can be traced. No plastic, no tech, not even an 'I got out of jail' phone call to mommy dearest - which for the record, says  _a lot_  about his character."

Digg's lips turned up at the corner.

"Anyway, it would have been pretty much impossible to track this guy-  _if_ \- he hadn't made one tiny mistake."

"Which is?" Roy asked.

"Drive-thru."

Laurel raised a brow. "I'm missing something."

Digg smiled and leaned back against the work table with his arms crossed.

"Our runaway dirt bag made a pit stop to Big Belly Burger.  _Apparently_ , sex trafficking makes you hungry for greasy food, hungry enough that he and his driver- who, BTW looks like a less green version of the hulk - decided to go for a fast food run. Rosco was sitting in the back seat, but unfortunately for him, the angle of the camera has him in direct view and facial recognition was able to verify him."

Oliver shook his head in awe.

"I followed the car and it looks like it stopped at a location  _tha-at_..."

Their phone's pinged unanimously. "I have just sent to your phones. According to facial recognition, no one has left the site since. You're welcome. Happy Arrow-ing." The line cut off and the dial tone vibrated across the Foundry.

Roy scoffed wondrously. "She really scares me sometimes."

* * *

"Hey."

Felicity looked up in surprise. She'd been working late (as usual) and hadn't expected anyone to still be around, much less John Diggle. "Hey." She greeted, pleasantly surprised. She got up and wrapped her arms around him, before he settled himself into the chair. "Is everything okay?" She asked, falling back into her own chair.

He nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine, just wanted to come see you- tell you that your information was right and thanks to you, Rosco is in police custody."

"Aka check up on me?" Felicity cocked her head to the side and smiled. "Laurel told me a few hours ago."

Digg grinned sheepishly. "Okay fine, but it's been a couple of weeks and I was getting a little worried."

"Digg, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."

He shrugged. "It's my job."

"No- your job is to plan a wedding and spend time with baby Sara." She put her pen down and leaned forward in her chair. "Well,  _you know_ \- when you're not off fighting crime and saving the city with your arrow happy, vigilante friend."

Digg smiled. "You mean  _our_  vigilante friend."

Felicity pursed her lips and sighed.

"Look, I know this is hard for you and I'm not even going to pretend to understand what you're going through. I just want you to know that you have friends you can talk to. We're a team, we always have been and we always will be, whether you decide to come back or not."

"Digg I'm not-I haven't-

He waved her away. "It's okay. You don't have to make the decision now and you don't need to explain it to me. Anyway, you've been working really hard lately. Your assistant says you've been putting in more hours than usual."

Felicity scowled. "Are you pumping Jerry for information?"

Digg grinned. "Don't look at me. Jerry's a talker."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Right, of course he is." The irony was not lost on her.

"All I'm saying is come over once in a while. I'm sure Lyla would love some female company- the kind she doesn't have to make baby noises at- and you can babysit Sara."

This made Felicity smile. "Can't say no to that now can I?"

He shook his head. "No, you really can't."

* * *

Felicity went to bed that night feeling oddly accomplished, which was strange considering all the work she'd managed to complete for Palmer Tech lately, not to mention the super suit she'd helped create with Ray.

It had never occurred to her to leave the team. She'd always assumed she would go back- just after a much needed break. But Diggs words ran through her head. Perhaps she _was_  avoiding the foundry. Maybe there  _was_  a decision to be made. Helping them occasionally, over the phone in her glass office, was different than walking into the foundry and seeing Oliver every night, waiting with baited breath for him and the others to get through the mission and back, safely.

Felicity didn't know if she had it in her anymore. Maybe continuing to work with Ray was the best thing for her. She could help him, help the city in ways Oliver couldn't- not anymore.

* * *

"A sword huh?"

Oliver cut the air with a complicated maneuver before swinging the scimitar down. He turned towards Diggle. "Yeah..." He replied breathlessly. His wound was acting up again, making it more difficult to make rapid movements, much less wield a sword.

John nodded and gestured for the scimitar. "May I?"

Oliver shrugged. "Go for it."

Diggle felt it out a little before swinging it down."It's heavy."

"Yeah." Oliver breathed, dragging a cloth over his face. "I used to know someone who fought with swords- made it seem as weightless as a feather." His eyes darkened as he sat down. "The way Ra's fought; you'd think the sword was an extension of his arm."

Digg swung the sword down again. "Kind of like you with a bow and arrow."

Oliver let out a wry breath of laughter."I can't defeat a man like Ra's Al Ghul with a bow and arrow."

"Why not? You've defeated every other enemy with one. Even ones injected with a superhuman serum."

Oliver frowned. "This is different- it's not the way he duels."

Digg placed the sword back on the table. "Exactly; last time he had the advantage by fighting with what he knew best. But Oliver, fighting with a bow and arrow is what  _you_  know best."

Oliver shook his head. "It's-

"It's  _what_  Oliver?" John exclaimed, stepping forward. "Why are you so determined to master sword fighting?" He scowled.

"I'm determined to survive!"

"Then survive, man! Survive with how you know best! You spent five years training and learning to survive- use those skills!"

"Exactly Diggle, I spent five years learning! I survived because I adopted new skills as I moved forward. If I can't continue to learn, then I have no chance of winning!" Oliver immediately pursed his lips.

John furrowed his brows. "This isn't about winning Oliver- or is it?" He scoffed.

Oliver shook his head. "It's not..."

Digg stepped forward. "Listen to me, you fought the head of the League of Assassins and you were defeated, you almost died- that does things to a person; but Oliver, if you let him get in your head, you won't have a chance of beating him. You don't need to be Ra's Al Ghul, in order to beat Ra's Al Ghul."

Oliver sighed. "Either way, I need to learn how to fight with a sword."

Diggle nodded. " _Fine_ , then we'll learn, but don't lose sight of who you are."

Oliver nodded slowly, conceding to Digg's logic. "You know, I missed your pep talks." He said with a hint of humor.

John smiled. "Lord knows you need it. Sometimes I wonder how you did this without me."

Oliver gave a reluctant laugh, before immediately sobering up again.

"It's not that easy, you know. I can't just join some fencing class." He said, returning to their original discussion.

"What about that friend of yours, you said you knew someone. Why not call in a favor?"

Oliver shook his head with something that looked like sadness. "I don't- they shut the outside world off a long time ago."

John leaned back against the steel table. "This was in Hong Kong, wasn't it? This thing with Waller...with Argus...what happened, Oliver?"

Oliver gazed at a point over Diggs shoulder, his eyes filled with regret. "There are just some things that you can't forget and some things you can't move past." Oliver grunted softly as he fell into Felicity's chair, rubbing the bandaged wound. "And when you can't come back from it, sometimes the world just becomes too much."

Digg frowned and watched Oliver hunch forward, as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. He'd seen this before, before Felicity had joined the team, before he'd allowed  _life_  and possibilities into his existence.

"Can I give you some more sagely advice?"

Oliver laughed without looking up. "At this point, I think a more appropriate question is can you not?"

"Talk to Felicity, Oliver. I know that you're respecting her space and her decision, but if you don't do something, you will lose her and I'm not just talking about the team."

Oliver's eyes were pained as he considered Johns warning.

* * *

Oliver stepped out of the elevators and was hit with a tidal wave of déjà-vu. He glanced quickly at the letterhead on the wall and shook his head, before stepping towards a very familiar desk, with a very unfamiliar person behind it. He cleared his throat and the man engrossed with something on his computer, looked up with a start. Green eyes widened behind his glasses.

"Uh...Mister Queen, I..." He trailed off and Oliver had to bite back a smile. The man reminded him very much of another, very blonde former EA.

"Sorry to barge in. I just needed to speak to Miss Smoak." Oliver's eyes traveled towards a blonde head just barely visible behind the large desktop computer on the other side of the glass panel.

"Y-yes-

The EA cleared his throat. "Of course, go ahead."

Oliver smiled appreciatively before tapping lightly against the glass door.

Felicity looked up, her expression shifting from expectant to shock. Composing herself quickly, she gave a nervous smile and indicated for him to come inside.

"Hi." She greeted softly, watching as he stepped forward, closing the door behind him. Neither one of them noticed Jerry's failed attempts at disinterest.

"Hey." Oliver answered, allowing himself to appreciate how much he'd missed her. Seeing her felt like a heavy load off of his chest and he realized just how bleak his life had become, without her in it, even for a few weeks.

If Oliver had been able to read minds, he would have found that Felicity's thoughts were very similar to his.

She bit her lip as he looked around the room with appraisal. "I like what you've done with the place."

She let out a breath of laughter. "The guy before left it a bit of a mess."

He grinned and it felt like his face would crack open. The action felt very alien yet liberating. He fell into the chair across from her. "Who are you kidding, the guy before wasn't in here long enough to keep the seat warm, much less make a mess. Apparently he couldn't even get his assistant to make him coffee."

Felicity cocked her head to the side with a smirk. "Coffee machine was broken."

"Something along those lines." He nodded smilingly, before adding almost hesitantly, "Seriously though, the office suits you... Palmer is a smart man."

Felicity pursed her lips and cleared her throat. "It suited you too. You just never believed it."

Oliver lowered his eyes and rubbed his hands together, before looking at her again. "So how have you been?"

She sighed and then shrugged. "Busy. I've been working a lot."

"So I've heard... Roy." He added, in response to her inquisitive gaze.

She continued to stare at Oliver. As much as she would have liked to think that he was here just to see her, she didn't think that was the case. "Why are you here, Oliver?" She asked quietly.

He swallowed the swell in his throat. "I wanted to thank you...for helping us to find Rosco."

Felicity nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "We couldn't have done it without you..."

He paused for a beat. " _I_  can't do  _this_  without you."

Felicity blinked in surprise.

"Coming back to the team is your decision and I will never take that decision away from you, but for what it's worth, the Arrow is nothing without his team and that team has always and  _will_  always; include you, whether you decide to come back or not."

Felicity opened her mouth to respond, but could find no words to answer with.

Oliver cleared his throat and offered her a small smile. "Anyway, I should go. You're busy and I don't want to keep you."

Felicity felt as hopeless as she had the night he'd left to fight Ra's Al Ghul, standing wordlessly as he told her he loved her. Now again, he was about to leave and again- like an idiot- she'd gone mute.

Felicity closed her eyes shut in frustration. Before she could even understand what was happening, her voice rang out before he could leave. His name echoed throughout the room, almost like a promise.

"Thank you."

Oliver turned around slowly. "No, Felicity. Thank you."


	8. What Happened In Russia Still Doesn't Stay In Russia

Oliver stepped inside the loft and shut the door behind him. He walked slowly, eyes staring beyond the large bay windows, over the city's skyline, yet not seeing anything. His lip twisted and suddenly, unable to repress the frustration and rage coursing through his veins any longer, he grabbed a glass off the table and flung it across the room, watching it shatter into tiny pieces.

An apt representation of his life.

He heard Thea rush down the stairs before he saw her. She looked around with wide eyes, and only when she was certain there was no danger, finally settled her gaze on him.

"What happened?!" She spotted the broken shards of glass on the floor and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Oliver clenched his jaw and sank into the sofa. "I'm fine." He muttered, burying his head into his hands. He stayed like that for a few moments before he felt the sofa shift beside him. Oliver sighed and raised his head, rubbing both hands through his hair. "I'm sorry I scared you."

Thea gave a bitter smile. "I don't scare that easy anymore."

He turned his head to the side and looked into her eyes. There was no fear there, only a fiery determination and concern;  _concern for him, or for the furniture?_  He though wryly. Honestly, with the way their relationship had been lately, he wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

"I guess you don't." He whispered.

Her eyes softened and she let out a breath, shocking Oliver by taking his hands into her own. "You okay, Ollie?"

His face fell and his shoulders sagged forward. He was tired. Tired of pretending he was, and tired of donning this mask that kept pushing away so many people he loved and cared for. "No. No I'm not." He whispered brokenly.

* * *

Thea stayed with him, like that- her hands intertwined with his- for a while, before pulling away. After which they both stood and wordlessly proceeded to clear the glass together.

Oliver knew that their relationship wasn't fixed yet- not even close- but somehow they'd moved a little further towards something that Oliver hoped was her forgiveness. It wouldn't be easy, and gaining her trust again would be even harder- especially given the impending and unavoidable truths he'd have to impart on her- but for the time being, Thea had offered him some hope that everything would be alright. And that was really all Oliver could ask for.

* * *

Felicity desperately wanted to call in sick. She knew that Ray would be more than understanding, but she needed the distraction of work. Staying home meant an entire day free for her mind to run rampant, thinking and re-thinking about her conversation with Oliver from the night before, dwelling on all the feelings that he'd mustered back. Feelings- she thought sullenly-that she was sure she'd managed to make disappear. Unfortunately, it seemed her brain had only succeeded in shoving them to the no-so far corners of her mind. _  
_

_If only there was an off button for your brain._  Felicity thought sourly- not for the first time.

Seeing him had made her entirely too happy and... float-y inside. The kind of feeling authors wrote about in romance novels that Felicity _never-ever_ read. 

She muttered unintelligibly to herself, before dragging her body out of bed.

* * *

"Well?"

Oliver scowled as he walked into the Foundry. Roy was already on the mat and wrapping his hands, getting ready for their training session.

"Well what?" He snapped. He wasn't feeling particularly forthcoming today and really just wanted to hit something- or to lose himself in the adrenaline of a fight.

Digg stepped forward and crossed his arms. "Did you speak to her yet?"

Roy's head snapped up with interest.

Oliver pursed his lips and glared. "Yes, Diggle- I did." He answered with a clipped voice. Perhaps he would start with his friends face. Although Lyla probably wouldn't be too happy with him. Not to mention it would probably frighten baby Sara if her dad came home with his face black and blue.

"And?"

"And I don't know, _alright?!"_ He exclaimed. "I don't know if she's coming back, I don't know if she  _wants_  to come back!"

When his eyes finally found John's, his friend caught the raw pain seething underneath his anger and frustration. Digg unfolded his arms and nodded curtly, before turning away towards the computers.

Oliver closed his eyes and let out a hard breath, before turning towards Roy. "Get up."

* * *

"Ray, what the hell?!" Felicity gasped as he limped past Jerry's empty desk and inside her office, with a purple lip and the air of someone who'd jumped off a cliff and forgotten to use a harness.

She shot up and rushed towards him, her face twisting in concern as he stumbled back with a flinch when she made contact. "Sorry, sorry!" She exclaimed, gently leading him towards her desk.

He fell into the chair with a groan and rubbed his stomach. "You know, I've never played football before, but I suspect this is what it would feel like... and I mean the football, not the athlete." He snorted.

After rummaging through the first aid kit in her office, she took out a swab and some antiseptic cream, before applying it gently on his cut. She had a strong wave of déjà-vu and realized that regardless of her attempts, life had somehow still managed to make her think about Oliver Queen.

"Did you get into a fight?" She asked softly.

"Uh...something like that." He muttered. "I may have taken the A.T.O.M suit out last night after hearing about an armed robbery on Fifth, over the police radar."

Felicity's hand stilled and her jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, you  _what_!?"

Ray shrugged. "Thought I'd take it out for a spin, you know, see how it would do. I need to test it out in the field."

She groaned and buried her head in her hands, before looking back up to glare at him. " _Yeah_ Ray _,_ testing it out meaning rescuing a cute cat from a tree, _not flying towards a bunch of kill happy cooks with guns! Are you completely out of your mind?!_ "

Ray looked up in frustration. "It malfunctioned."

Felicity let out an irritated noise and flung her hands in the air. "You... are just...ugh!"

He frowned at the floor. "The suit's flaw is the power source. It was partially damaged in the fight and I was left almost defenseless. I barely had enough power left to fly out of there and even that was almost impossible." Ray let out a breath. "The A.T.O.M failed... and they got away."

Felicity sighed and reached out, tucking her finger under his chin and drawing his head up. "Listen to me, the A.T.O.M didn't fail,  _you_  did not fail. The suit isn't indestructible and  _neither are you_. You're lucky you got out of there alive." Her brows furrowed and her jaw tightened. "Do you understand, Ray, you could have been  _killed_."

He looked so defeated, Felicity's anger almost dissipated. Almost. "I know, but so could innocent people."

She stepped back and pinched the bridge of her nose, pacing the office floor. After a few moments, she muttered a curse under her breath and steeled herself, as if already regretting the decision she was about to make. "I may know some people who could help with the suit."

Ray stared curiously. "What do you mean?"

Felicity frowned. "How much do you know about STAR Labs?"

* * *

As it turned out, Ray knew a lot about STAR Labs, having attempted to buy it in the past.

_"Seriously? You made a bid for STAR Labs?"_  Felicity had asked in disbelief.

_He simply shrugged in response._   _"Sure, their technology was inspiring, but Dr. Wells shot me down before I could even talk numbers."_

_Felicity almost laughed at the thought of Harrison Wells' face after being asked to sell his beloved life's work. "Yeah, I can see that happening."_

_Ray shook his head. "I know I should be surprised that you know Dr. Wells, but somehow I'm not."_

_Felicity smiled. "Let's just say he's a friend of a friend."_

After that, Felicity made the call to Barry and as predicted, he was entirely more than happy that she would be visiting. Although that may have been because she'd left out the part about her boss needing help with his flying- quasi Iron Man- super suit.

The trip was finalized and they would be travelling to Central City under the pretense of re-approaching Dr. Wells about the sale of STAR Labs. The board had suggested against it- unsurprisingly- given the reputation of the company, but somehow Ray had convinced them.

Felicity just had one thing left to do.

She waited inside Big Belly Burger, her leg bouncing up and down with nerves. There was no reason for her to be nervous. It's wasn't as if they had any reason to believe her trip with Ray was anything but work- related, still, Felicity couldn't stop fidgeting. The door swung open and she watched John walk inside- alone. Felicity let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

John smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." Felicity grinned as he slid in the booth across from her.

He smirked. "Try not to look so relieved." 

Her cheeks warmed as she feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

John almost snorted.

Felicity may have been slightly too excited when the waitress came over to take their order.

* * *

"Alright, spit it out." John said after wiping his mouth and pushing back the empty tray of food.

Felicity cleared her throat and played absently with a fry.

His face fell immediately. "You're not coming back, are you?"

Felicity's head snapped up and she furrowed her brows. "What- no. John, that's not what I need to tell you."

"Oh. Well than why do you look like you're about to tell me someone died."

She huffed. "I don't! And for the record, no one is dead, either."

His lips tugged at the corner. "Good to know. So what's up?"

She took a breath. "I'm going to Central City for a few days."

John's face twisted in confusion. "O-kay. Is that the big news? You could have just texted me. I mean I love you, but I'm sure I can survive without you for a few days."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Ha-ha." She cleared her throat. "You didn't let me finish. I'm going to Central City...with Ray."

Diggs brows furrowed. "Oh...I didn't know the two of you were-

"No! I mean, we're not!" Felicity sighed. "It's a business trip- strictly professional. And the last time I told you I was going to a business dinner with him, you paid me a visit at the office, so I thought I'd beat you to it."

John frowned. He trusted Palmer about as far as he could throw him, and hiring Felicity as the VP of a multi- billion dollar company- when as far as Palmer knew, she'd been an EA to the last CEO- had made him suspicious of his motives from the very beginning. He had no question of Felicity's talents and recognized exactly how much of an asset she was to the company, but the expensive dresses, the dinners and now this- it all just gave him a weird feeling.

"Digg. You've got that look."

He snapped out of his thoughts. "What look?"

"The kind you get before you're about to shoot someone." She answered dryly.

John scowled. "Do I  _need_  to shoot anybody?"

"No- absolutely not; unless there's, like, a psychopath holding a knife behind me or something."

He gave a reluctant smile. "There's no psychopath behind you, besides, I don't have my glock."

"Good, well, good for the psychopath, not so great for me- anyway, look, it's not a big deal. Just a business trip- kind of like Russia!" She blanched. "Except...nothing like Russia- at all. I don't know why I said that." She couldn't help but remember Isabel Rochev sauntering smugly out of Oliver's room, her dress undone and her hair mussed. Felicity's face burned with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

John, completely unaware of what had happened between Oliver and Isabel, simply stared at Felicity with an incredulous look. "Right."

Felicity sighed. "I'll be back in a few days."

Digg hesitated. "Back in Starling...or back on the team?"

She bit her lip.

* * *

Oliver was wielding the scimitar when John walked into the Foundry. "Hey." Oliver greeted breathlessly, before setting the sword aside and pulling a shirt over his head. Digg caught sight of the un-bandaged wound for the first time and frowned. He thought about the kind of injury a man would have to sustain, for a wound like that, still looking very fresh, even six weeks later.

"How's the sword?" He asked, nodding towards it. Oliver shrugged.

"I still feel like an amateur."

Oliver's version of amateur was vastly different to his. "You'll get it, eventually."

"Where'd you go?" Oliver asked as he started to clear some of the gear.

"I had lunch with Felicity." Digg watched as several emotions flitted across Oliver's face. He wasn't an idiot, he knew Oliver was hurting.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"She wanted to talk to me about something."

Oliver looked up quickly. His forehead was wrinkled.

"Not about that. She wanted us to know she's going away to Central City for a few days."

The lines on Oliver's forehead deepened and Digg remembered his irrational anger towards Felicity for leaving to Central City in the past. Unbeknownst to Felicity, an anger fueled by jealousy.

"To see Barry." He stated gruffly.

Digg hesitated. "Not quite. She's going to Central City for a business trip...with Ray." Digg trailed off.

The only indication Oliver gave at being upset was the slight twitch of his jaw. "Ok." He clipped, before turning away.

Digg furrowed his brows as he remembered something. "Oh, by the way, what happened in Russia?"

* * *

John was still reeling from Oliver's confession as he walked inside his apartment. His lip twisted in distaste when his thoughts turned to Isabel Rochev and he shook his head.

_Oliver's back tensed. "What?"_

_Digg raised his brow. "Russia? Did something happen while I was in prison?"_

_Oliver turned around slowly. "Why?" His voice was tight._

_He shrugged. "Just something Felicity said."_

_Oliver's eyes flashed guiltily and Digg narrowed his. "Something did happen."_

_Oliver's jaw tightened. "Nothing. It's not important."_

_"To hell it's not. What am I missing? What did you do?!" He demanded._

_He gave an irritated sigh. "I slept with Isabel and Felicity caught us...after."He muttered, indiscernible._

_Digg leaned forward with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, what? It just sounded like you said you slept with Isabel...in Russia...as in Isabel Rochev..._ _**while we were in Russia** _ _."_

_Oliver's face twisted. "Thank you for clarifying that Digg."_

_Johns lip curled like he'd swallowed something sour and he shook his head. "I was wrong. You're an even bigger idiot than I thought. I really didn't know that was possible. Congratulations."_

_"Tell me something I don't know." Oliver muttered._

"Hey you."

Digg snapped out of his thoughts and smiled as Lyla moved towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her hair. "How was your day?"

Lyla shrugged. "Fine. Did some recon, interrogated a few international terrorists- you know- just your typical stuff."

His lip quirked. "Just a typical day."

He followed her into their bedroom, peeling off his jacket and tie in the process, preparing to ask the same question he did, every other night. "So, did you find any information today?" And like every other night, Lyla sighed. "No Johnny. I told you, if I found anything, you'd be the first to find out."

He sat at the edge of the bed and frowned. "I know, but it's been months that you've been saying that and nothing's come up. I can't move forward with this until I know what happened." He buried his head into his hands.

Ever since discovering an organization by the name of H.I.V.E had been responsible for his brother Andy's death, Digg hadn't been able to rest easy. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling about the shadowy group that no one seemed to know anything about. Or so they claimed. He had a feeling that the information he was looking for, lay within Argus. But since asking Lyla for help a few months ago, they'd found nothing. He knew his wife kept secrets, they both did, it was part of the job; but he hoped this was something she wasn't lying about. He had to believe she wasn't. Their relationship depended on it. John had thought about getting Felicity's help numerous times, but it had never seemed like the right time. Now with Oliver disappearing, their issues, and now her new job, he didn't want to add even more to her plate.

"Baby, I know it's hard, but according to literally every one of my sources, no one has even heard of H.I.V.E. If Lawton was telling the truth, this was beyond covert and above any clearance level I have." She reached forward and folded his hands inside her own. "We'll find the truth, somehow. You just have to give it a little more time. Bear with me."

John kissed her knuckles and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIVE baby, HIVE.


	9. STAR Labs

Caitlin Snow tapped her fingers against her worktable as she watched Barry's heart rate climb. Her eyes moved over the monitors and narrowed attentively as the numbers rose and fell.

"Okay Barry, that's enough for today." Dr. Wells' voice instructed.

Barry slowed down, until finally the treadmill came to a complete halt. He let out a puff of breath and hopped off. "You're getting faster Barry." Caitlin's voice floated over the com.

He grinned. "Cool!"

She was waiting for him with a towel and a bottle of water when he walked out. He took them appreciatively and dropped into a chair, wheeling it towards the monitors. "I felt a shift today, like my body physically broke through some kind of barrier. I  _felt_  myself run faster."

Cisco cackled. "Oh man, the possibilities!"

He and Barry bumped fists while Caitlin rolled her eyes, a shadow of a smile floating around her lips.

Dr. Wells wheeled towards them, his expression pensive. "There is still a long way to go Barry, before you reach a speed high enough to challenge the other speedster. Focus on that."

Barry's expression sobered and he nodded, his eyes glazed over as he thought about the man who may have killed his mother.

"But-

Dr. Wells said, nodding at Barry, seemingly sensing the dark nature of his thoughts. "-very well done today, Barry."

Barry's lip turned up at the corner. Praises from his mentor were few and far between. "Thanks Dr. Wells, but you're right. If I have any chance of fighting the Yellow Man, much less beating him, I have to run faster."

"Well that's something I didn't think that I'd ever hear coming from your lips."

Barry, along with everyone else, turned around in surprise, to find Felicity standing at the doorway, her eyes dancing with amused incredulity.

Barry's face exploded with a large grin.

Felicity smiled. "Hey guys, long time no see."

* * *

Caitlin rushed forward and threw her arms around Felicity's shoulders. "It's so nice to see you." She greeted happily.

"Yeah, we miss Starling City's finest." Cisco piped.

Both Barry and Caitlin turned around in amusement and he blushed red. "I meant crime fighting-wise...in case you thought I meant something else...which I totally didn't. Not that you're not, you know...fine- I'm just going to shut up now."

Barry snickered on the side as Caitlin shook her head in exasperation.

Felicity laughed. "Thanks Cisco...I think."

Dr. Wells pushed his chair forward and offered her a warm smile. "It's always a pleasure, Miss Smoak."

She gave a sheepish grin and bounced lightly on her heels. "Thanks, but something tells me it's going to be less of a pleasure, when I tell you the real reason I'm here."

Barry stepped forward and crossed his arms curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Can you all...follow me?" Felicity asked, slight hesitation coloring her voice.

Barry and Dr. Wells exchanged a glance, before following Felicity outside. She cleared her throat and looked up towards the sky nervously.

Barry followed her eyes before glancing back. "Um Felicity, what is it that we're supposed to be doing, exactly?"

"Just wait for it."

He thought he heard her mutter something along the lines of  _'trust me, you'll know it when you see it_ ' though he couldn't be sure.

Certainly enough, a few seconds later, they spotted something glimmer in the sky.

"What- is that-

"-a bird?"

"No, it looks like a plane."

They shifted back in alarm as the object in question shot down towards them at incredible speed. Felicity simply sighed in dejection as Ray landed in a heap of armour.

"It's my boss."

* * *

"Felicity, what the hell were you thinking?!  _Were_  you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that the CEO of Palmer Technologies was going to get himself killed trying to build an Exosuit, unless I did something to help! And I was right. He went out a few nights ago and tried to take on a bunch of thugs and nearly got himself shot to death. I didn't know who else to turn to."

Barry let out a long breath and dragged his hands across his face in frustration. "How much does he know about me?"

"Absolutely nothing." Felicity answered steadfast. "For all he knows, we're just here to get help from Dr. Wells."

He groaned. "You know, when I said I'd help you no matter what, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Felicity shot him an appreciative smile. "I know. Believe me, if there was any other way, I wouldn't be doing this. I honestly didn't think we'd be able to pull it off. I was counting on that."

Barry gave her a disbelieving look. "You're kidding, right? Felicity, you are one of  _the_  smartest people I know-  _and I work with STAR Labs_. With you helping him, it was only a matter of time."

"Great, thanks. That makes me feel a lot better." Felicity deadpanned.

"I'm not trying to make you feel better; I'm trying to make you realize how dangerous this is."

Felicity turned away and gazed at something in the distance. "I  _know._ But you weren't there Barry, you didn't see how determined he was... how close to the edge he was." She swallowed the swell in her throat, before turning back to him.

"He lost his fiancée, last year during the siege. He thinks it's his fault for not protecting her. We've both seen how dangerous that grief can be." She whispered pointedly.

Barry closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm assuming Oliver has no idea about any of this." The question was rhetorical. "He's gonna kill me,  _oh_   _god_  he's gonna kill me." He muttered. "And this time it's going to be a lot worse than an arrow through my shoulder."

Felicity patted his shoulder consolingly, before walking back to the cortex. Needless to say, Barry was not reassured one bit.

* * *

"So Barry seems nice. I get the feeling he doesn't like me too much though."

Ray had insisted they have a proper meal after spending the entire day at STAR labs, which was how Felicity found herself dressed up in a pretty blue dress she'd had the good sense to pack, and seated in a quiet corner, in a small, yet tasteful Greek restaurant close to their hotel.

For some reason, Felicity found herself to be nervous. She forced her nerves to settle, as she drank back a sip of wine, before smiling apologetically. "He doesn't hate you; he just...doesn't know you. Believe me; Barry Allen couldn't hate anyone, even if he tried."

Ray smiled back, before staring at his hands contemplatively. "He thinks it's dangerous, being around me- or rather the suit."

Felicity made a derisive noise, but he raised his brow. "I have an IQ level above 150, Felicity, give me some credit."

She rolled her eyes and sank back in her seat. "Yes, fine. He thinks me helping you isn't a good idea. But he respects your reasons. The two of you are more similar than you know."

Ray gave a huff of laughter.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing." He hesitated. "If you don't mind me asking, are you and him..." He trailed off as he watched her pointedly.

Felicity's eyes widened and he took her surprise as discomfort, raising his hands quickly. "You don't have to tell me. It's none of my business."

Felicity sighed. "No, Barry and I are not...a something, if that's what you're getting at. He's just a really good friend."

Ray cleared his throat. "I see."

The nerves were back, Felicity noted, and she took another- large- sip of wine.

* * *

Felicity and Ray walked back to their rooms in silence, both lost in thought. Felicity's heels dangled at her side in her hands, having taken them off on the elevator ride up.

Finally, arriving at her door- directly across from his- she turned around and pursed her lips in a smile. "Well, this is me." She said, unnecessarily.

Ray smiled; his eyes faraway as he nodded. "Goodnight, Felicity. Thank you...for today. For everything really."

She shrugged. "Yeah. No problem." She bit her lip and their eyes met. "Goodnight, Ray." She murmured softly and before she could dredge the room key from her clutch, Felicity found herself pushed against the door, as Ray leaned down, his lips firmly against her own.

She didn't respond at first, shock clouding her ability to think clearly, but when she felt him pull back, discouraged no doubt, she dropped her shoes to the floor and raised her hand, gathering his hair in her fingers and pulling him back to her mouth.

She parted her lips gingerly, allowing his tongue access, before nipping his lower lip and pressing against his lips again, soft and tentative.

They broke away a few moments later, and although she wasn't breathless, or flushed with desire, her nerves buzzed.

There was no denying she was attracted to Ray Palmer. He was handsome, yes, but he was also a good man, they had a great compatibility, and he was  _here_. He wasn't running away- at least not yet- and he wasn't making excuses; shying away from living his life while also trying to save the city.

_He wasn't Oliver._

And that in itself was the problem.

Ray pulled away and straightened, but not before cupping her cheek tenderly. "I know that I messed up before- when I kissed you, and ran away. But I won't do that again. I won't apologize for kissing you, and I certainly won't apologize for having feelings for you."

Felicity's mind flitted with a thousand different emotions, all of which were visible on her face.

He removed his hand and stepped back. "You still love him-

Felicity's head snapped up.

"-the friend you lost, the one you said was... more. If anyone understands that, it's me."

Felicity's face was pained as she bit her lip. "Ray."

He shook his head. "You don't have to explain, you never have to explain. Just know I'll be here." He turned around, pressed his key card and disappeared behind his door.

Felicity slumped back against her door and slid down, staring into nothingness.

* * *

To his credit Ray didn't bring it up again and continued on with their relationship without any awkwardness at all- confirming to Felicity that Ray Palmer was probably  _the_  perfect man.

After sitting in the hallway for an hour, lost in her thoughts and then crying in her pillow for the rest of the night, Felicity accepted that romance was just not in her future and made several great realizations, before collecting herself, just before her alarm clock went off.

By the end of the week, Felicity was ready to head back to Starling City.

As they made their goodbyes, she was convinced that Cisco would be leaving with them. He and Ray had automatically taken to one another and Felicity had heard Cisco refer to the ATOM suit as his 'baby' more than a few times.

With Cisco's help and Dr. Well's knowledge, Ray had managed to find a solution for the power source and although Felicity knew Barry was hesitant about the ATOM suit, he couldn't deny that Ray's intentions were genuine and much like him, Ray only wanted to protect the city and those he cared about, which - after a few days of observation- Barry realized included Felicity.

Ray extended a hand to Barry, which he accepted without hesitation. "Thank you." He said firmly.

"Cisco did all the work."

Ray smiled. "Thank you for trusting me."

Barry nodded. "Felicity trusts you. That's all the assurance I need." He shot her a smile and she wrapped her arms around him in gratitude.

"Bye, Barry." She whispered.

He grinned. "Bye, Felicity."

* * *

"What are you going to do, Oliver? Just drive around until you find him again?" Laurel exclaimed, glaring at Oliver as he paced around the foundry, clad completely in his Arrow suit.

Digg stepped forward. "She's right man. There's not much we can do. We lost him-  _for now_. We'll find another lead, or flush him out somehow, either way we'll get him, and everything he knows about the shipments, but for now, all we can do is wait."

Oliver pursed his lips and pressed down the simmering anger. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to find Aaron Sanchez and put a few arrows in him, preferably after he confessed to the exact time, place and cargo number of the illegal M-16 shipments, but before worked just as well for him.

He wanted to yell, he wanted to blame someone- blame everyone. He wanted to pull out his hair. But John was right. There was nothing they could do at the moment and if he succumbed to his anger now, it would be misplaced and unproductive.

He settled for slamming his gloved hands against the table. It rattled under his force.

Roy stepped forward. "Maybe I can hit the streets again, see if I can get any intel on where he might have disappeared to?"

"Or, maybe I can help."

Oliver's breath caught and he whirled around in shock, his eyes widening. Everyone looked up with varying measures of relief and surprise as Felicity descended the steps.

Her heels clacked familiarly across the floor, echoing around the room and her eyes met his with a steely determination that dissolved all of his anger and frustration.

He breathed.

"So, what do you need me to do?"


	10. Trust Runs Thicker Than Blood

"Sharp left on Aiden, Oliver."

"Got it."

Felicity heard the roar of his bike over the comm.

She traced the map and narrowed her eyes. "If he continues this way, he'll be heading towards terminal 6 at Starling's Marine Port. According to their log, there are only three shipments due today, one of which came in about an hour ago."

Digg leaned over her chair. "How much you want to bet that's our illegal batch of M-16's."

"Is there any way you can access their security system- maybe get some eyes on the cargo? I want to know for certain. I can't lose him again." Oliver said.

"It hurts me that you need to ask." Felicity murmured, pulling up the Port's security feed as she spoke.

Digg enhanced the screen while Felicity ran facial recognition on the men unloading the cargo.

"So there's no way to tell if the M-16's are in there, but unless Ricardo Gonzalez and Julio Santana- both known associates of Aaron Sanchez, not to mention wanted for over fifty different felonies- suddenly decided to start new lives as fisherman, this is it."

"Good. That's what we needed. I'm moving in."

"Do you want me to call Det- Captain Lance?"

"Patch me through, I'll do it."

"Patching. You know, I've never really understood the use of that term."

Digg grinned behind her and she heard Roy snickering through the comm.

"Welcome back, Blondie."

* * *

Felicity was running a security sweep through her programs when Oliver and Roy bounded down the steps. She took a deep breath before turning around expectantly.

"So that went well."

Roy shot a boyish grin. "Are you kidding? We haven't had an op this smooth since you left- sorry, was that insensitive? I mean took a break."

Felicity smiled, unable to repress the pride she felt at knowing that she was a valued member of the team.

Her eyes followed Oliver as he put aside his bow and quiver wordlessly. Apart from anything relating to  _Operation Recover M-16's_ , he hadn't spoken to her. Felicity may have been back, but it still didn't change the fact that they had issues to work through.

Digg and Roy exchanged a quick look.

"What made you decide to come back?" Oliver said finally, turning around to meet her gaze.

She opened her mouth to answer, but found the words to be caught in her throat. "I- this is my home."

Oliver's eyes flashed with an array of repressed emotion.

"You guys are my family and being away just made me realize that I could never leave, even if I tried. This started as your crusade, Oliver-

Felicity shuffled in her chair, before standing.

"-but somewhere along the way, it became mine too- became ours." She said, nodding towards the others.

"I care about this city as much as you do and I will always protect it and protect all of you."

Felicity found herself yet again, lost in the depth of his eyes, before Oliver blinked, breaking the connection and stepping forward to extend his hand. He smiled with an easiness only achieved when he was around her. "Good, because this team needs you; welcome back, Felicity."

She took his hand, noticing the way his hand wrapped firmly around hers. Going forward wouldn't be easy, and they had many more issues left to resolve, but they were partners and they would continue to remain partners. He gave her hand the slightest squeeze.

"It's good to be back." She murmured.

* * *

"You look...rejuvenated." Ray commented, as she walked into his office.

Felicity found this odd, considering she'd spent the majority of her night in the foundry, but she couldn't deny feeling considerably happier waking up that morning.

"Thanks?"

Ray snorted. "I should probably start thinking about giving compliments that actually sound like compliments."

She shrugged. "Probably, but it's cute."

They froze.

"That wasn't me... flirting- with you. Although I'm not opposed to flirting- just that I wasn't..." She trailed off, certain that her face was as red as the pen tucked behind her ear. Not for the first time in her life, Felicity considered getting her brain checked. Awkward babbling and word vomit of her nature had to be some kind of a disease.

Ray relaxed and let out a huff of laughter, before nodding towards the file in her hands. "So what's up?"

Felicity cleared her throat and fell into the chair across from his desk. "Applied Sciences."

He raised a brow. "What about it?"

"I was thinking we could rebuild the facility that...exploded."

"You mean was blown up."

"Technicalities." She answered hastily, waving him away. Her cheeks reddened slightly. "Anyway, I think we should rebuild in the Glades. It would create job opportunity; get some people off the street. Your alter ego may be able to zap baddies with lasers, but this is one way Ray Palmer can help the city." She said.

He frowned and leaned back in his chair. "Felicity, you don't have to convince me. I agree with you. I trust you and I trust your instinct."

She pressed her cheeks in. "Sooo, you approve?"

He grabbed his pen and gestured for the manila file, still in her hand. "You have my approval, where do I sign?"

Sure enough, papers were signed and Felicity felt the excitement of overseeing this project. She'd spent many nights losing sleep over it, and although she knew blowing up the facility had been for a greater purpose, it still didn't absolve the guilt she felt over destroying one of the last tangible memories Oliver had of his father.

"So uh, are you taking your new and improved toy out for a spin tonight?"

Ray snorted. "You make it sound like it's  _not_  an Exosuit powered by Dwarf Star alloy with the ability to fly."

"That's a mouthful." Felicity mumbled.

"It depends, are you going to yell at me again?" Ray asked, raising his brow as he referred to her question.

"It depends, are you going to attempt to take out an armed gang, single handed again?" She countered pointedly.

He smirked. "Touche. You know, the Arrow goes around taking on armed gangs and organized crime single-handedly, with nothing but a bow and arrow. He seems to do just fine."

"Last time I checked, an arrow still pierces through bone. The  _Arrow_ is also skilled in multiple forms of combat-  _or so I've heard_. In any case, stop comparing yourself to the Arrow, Ray. You're not him and this isn't a competition."

Ray frowned and stood, circling his desk to stare beyond the large bay windows. "I'm not trying to compete. I just want to feel like the Atom is doing some good. I want to make a difference."

"You  _are_  making a difference. Don't you get it Ray? Creating this suit alone is something you should be exceptionally proud of."

Ray's lip twitched. "You know, for someone with an unusually unfiltered mouth, you always know the right thing to say."

Felicity shrugged. "It's a blessing and a curse."

"Well, I for one think your mouth is a blessing."

Her face turned beet red and he chuckled nervously. "That came out wrong."

"Right, I'm just gonna..." She gestured towards the door and promptly turned on her heel, not quite sure if she was embarrassed because of his words, or because he knew exactly how her lips felt.

* * *

"You've been busy." Captain Lance stated, as he shut the precinct back door behind him.

"Making up for lost time." Oliver answered through his voice modulator.

"Well with all these criminals back in custody, I'm pretty sure everyone in the DA's office is on overtime. I haven't spoken to Laurel in days."

Oliver refrained from mentioning that the reason for that was probably because she was training with a former vigilante, to follow in her deceased sister's footsteps. He felt a pang of guilt. Lying to Lance was difficult, especially now, standing here knowing that the man trusted him- respected him. Oliver deserved none of it. But the secret wasn't his to share. This was a family matter and although he did not agree with Laurel- about anything anymore it seemed- he owed it to her to respect her wishes.

Still, he'd promised this man he would do everything in his power to keep his daughters safe. Oliver had failed on both counts.

He turned away. "Who's next?"

Lance reached into his jacket and pulled out a file. "Last one from Bricks crew."

Oliver caught it deftly as Lance threw it towards him. His eyes skimmed through the page before looking up. "Thomas Randall."

Lance nodded. "Cop killer. My guys are particularly hungry for this one. Randall took two of our own a couple of years ago."

Oliver gave a curt nod under his hood. "We'll find him."

* * *

"According to SCPD's database, Thomas Randall was a cut and dry case. Walked up to a couple of on duty officers and shot them both at point blank range, before fleeing the scene. Unfortunately for him, security cams from nearby stores had him on video."

Oliver frowned. "So how did he get out? All of Bricks crew were released because they were either up for parole, or in the process of being tried. When Brick managed to steal all evidence against them, the courts had nothing to keep them."

"Randall had already been convicted." Diggle nodded.

Felicity leaned back in her chair and wheeled around. "We all know Iron Heights' track record for keeping criminals in, maybe he was an exception to Brick's little plan. It wouldn't be the first time our trusty prison system kept a breakout from the public." Her sarcasm was accented with her dramatic use of air quotes.

"She's right." Roy piped.

Oliver scowled. "Something about this just feels off. A guy with an otherwise clean record, wakes up one day and decides to shoot up a couple of officers, in an area surrounded by stores and restaurants, before running off? Doesn't make sense."

"Because the bad guys always make sense." Felicity drawled.

"Whatever the case, we need to find him before he puts more bullets in more cops." Digg said.

"Or innocent civilians." Roy said pointedly.

Felicity nodded and wheeled her chair back towards her desk. "On it. Anyone want to go for a food run? I'm starved." She asked; eyes narrowing at her monitors as her fingers flew over the keyboard.

Roy bounced a tennis ball off one of the beams and stood with a flourish. "I'll go, I'm bored."

Felicity shot him a look. "Don't you have a bar to manage?"

"Thea's still pissed at me, figured I'd give her a break from giving me the silent treatment."

She scowled. "How kind of you." She glanced fleetingly towards Oliver before turning back to her computers.

Oliver shifted and fell into Roy's abandoned chair. "How is she?"

Roy shrugged. "Answering your question would require her to actually speak to me. But from what I can gather, she works at the club and then goes home. She doesn't do much else."

Oliver sighed and leaned forward. "That's what worries me. She's twenty years old. She should be out living her life and hanging out with her friends, not carrying the burden of secrets and lies."

Felicity's hands stilled momentarily.

"I don't know about you, but the Thea Queen that I remember, the one who was 'living her life and hanging out with her friends', she got arrested and did drugs. She's grown into her own, Oliver; you have to learn to accept that." Digg insisted.

Oliver knew he was right and if the past few years had taught him anything, it was that his sister was strong and capable. The problem lay with him and his minds incapability to equate happy sister with anything other than the image he'd left behind, eight years ago, of a young, bright-eyed and vibrant girl.

He buried his head in his hands and heard Roy leave a few moments later.

Digg left not long after, claiming he wanted to tuck Sara in bed, promising to return if they found anything. The only sound that remained, was the soft stroke of Felicity's fingers against her keyboard and her occasional sighs and hums. Oliver knew he was staring, but seeing her there and listening to the familiarity of her presence, it made him feel at ease, despite everything.

He saw her lip twitch eventually and she shook her head with a slight hint of amusement. Her hair brushed against her back with the motion. "You know, watching me work isn't going to find Randall any faster."

He smiled. "No?"

She shook her head. "No."

Oliver leaned back in his chair and observed her stare down at her keyboard hesitantly, as though internally arguing with something. "She's been through a lot." Felicity said finally, swiveling around to face him. "Thea." She said by way of explanation. "And so have you. She deserves to be given time, just like you have the right to keep secrets."

Oliver's lips parted slightly as he blinked at her.  

"But you have to let her come to terms with it. Just like you can't fathom Thea as anything other than what you remember her as- before the island, she also can't let go of the person you used to be; not yet and certainly not like this. She loves you though, you're her big brother and right now, what Thea craves is a family. Throughout everything Malcolm Merlyn has done, she found reason to trust and forgive him, because he's her father. She will find reason to trust you again as well."

He pinned her under the weight of his gaze. "And what about you?"

Felicity's brows knit together. "What about me?"

"You said you didn't know if you could trust me again. Is that true?" His voice was low.

"If it were, I wouldn't be here."

His eyes widened with awe and Felicity found it remarkable how much emotion he could convey through them, while his face remained utterly unreadable. She swallowed the swell in her throat. "It's funny; it almost feels like yesterday that you walked into my office with that laptop and your stupid excuse." She sighed, the memory pulling at her lips.

"I trusted you the moment I saw you. You lied and you fed me fake stories, but I trusted you and when it comes to my life, I always will."

The sound of Roy's footsteps descending the staircase pulled Felicity's gaze and she all but bolted out of her chair, promptly distracting herself with the bag of food that dangled on his arm.

Roy pretended not to notice as Oliver stared a hole behind the space where Felicity had been sitting moments ago.


	11. Origins

"Okay, so I've searched almost every database out there, stalked this man's entire life, hacked every personal account and device he's ever owned- which, for the record, does  _not_  sit well with me- and still I've got nothing that would explain how a man who has never committed an illegal felony in his life, ends up killing two cops."

"I'm going with psychotic break." Roy shrugged, as he bit into an apple.

Felicity made a face. "I mean, maybe. It's just weird, because up until twenty-five years ago, his behavior was completely normal."

"What happened twenty five years ago?" Digg asked curiously.

"He was diagnosed with a brain tumor; which they were able to remove after he underwent neurosurgery. After that, his behavior becomes weirdly sporadic."

"Sporadic how?" Oliver asked.

"Well- he kind of disappears. Accounts are inactive for long periods of time, facial recognition catches him a handful of times, no employment records, no tech, barely any active plastic transactions- poof- gonzo." She waved her hand for additional dramatics.

"So he became a shut-in." Digg shrugged.

"Hence the psychotic break down." Roy reiterated.

"Or- information's been wiped."

Oliver shifted. "What?"

"I recognize cloaking when I see it and this smells like hacking to me- from the looks of it, by someone who's really good at it."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked tensely.

"I can't be sure. Whoever did it, covered their tracks really well, but my hacking senses are tingling."

He sighed. "Well, this makes things difficult. See what else you can find. If you're right, we're dealing with someone a lot smarter than we'd expected."

Felicity gazed back at her computers and frowned.

* * *

"Hey Laurel, what's up?" Felicity greeted, without looking up from her screen. She took a moment to rub the bleariness from her eyes. It had been two days of slaving over her computers, tracing patterns and retracing algorithms, all of which had led to a gigantic pile of nothing that could explain the gaping holes in Randall's life.

"It's slightly creepy when you do that." Laurel said, looking around the otherwise empty foundry.

Felicity's lip twitched and she nodded towards one of her monitors running the security feed, ignoring the painful kink that had settled in her neck. "All seeing, remember? So what's up? Do you have any info on our evasive, low key hack genius?"

Laurel pursed her lips and Felicity caught a flash of frustration. She swiveled her chair around. "Hey, you okay?"

"It just feels like you guys aren't putting enough- or any, really- effort into finding Sara's killer. We have to find the rest of Brick's thugs, I get it, but Sara's murderer is still out there and I can't just sit around, not doing anything anymore."

Felicity swallowed the swell in her throat and prayed that she didn't look as guilty as she felt. She wanted to tell her. Laurel had every right- more so than anyone- but the situation was complicated, and Felicity knew Laurel and Thea had a close relationship. The knowledge of what she'd done would destroy both of them. They needed to figure out what was happening with the League and create a plan of action, before telling anyone.

Felicity took a breath. "There's a lot going on, Laurel, but just hold out a little longer." It wasn't a lie, necessarily.

Laurel let out a noncommittal noise. "That's just it, I can't hold out! Every time I smile, or laugh or even feel the slightest bit of happiness, I feel guilty. I can't live like that anymore!"

Felicity bit her lip and felt a pang in her chest. "I'm sorry."

She scoffed. "You're sorry? That's it? I thought you said you cared about her too."

Felicity flinched.

" _Hey!_ "

They both turned to find Oliver at the foot of the stairs. His forehead was knitted as his eyes bounced between them in concern. "What's going on?"

Laurel shook her head in disdain. "What's going  _on_  is that you are doing absolutely  _nothing_  to find Sara's killer."

Oliver's face softened. "Laurel-

"- _save it_ , Ollie.  _This is_   _Sara_. Or have you forgotten?"

His lip twisted. " _Don't_ \- don't say something you're going to regret." He murmured warningly.

Oliver walked forward. "I am doing everything I can, to find whoever did this, but don't ever accuse me of forgetting. I understand that you're hurting- but we are too. You can't project your frustration on everyone else."

Laurel took a restraining breath and stepped back. "You're right... I'm sorry- to both of you. I should go." Without a second glance, she rushed off.

Felicity slumped back into her chair.

* * *

"You okay?" Oliver asked when Laurel was gone.

She nodded flippantly. "I'm fine."

He sank down into his chair with a deep sigh and rubbed his temple.

Felicity hesitated, before whispering, "I feel like a horrible person."

Oliver gave a soft chuckle and looked up. "You are the furthest thing, from a horrible person Felicity. It's necessary to keep this from her for now. There are too many moving parts and too many things that could go wrong. Everything is already so unstable."

"I know, but still." Felicity felt Sara's absence more than ever and she wished her friend were here right now.

"Hey-

Felicity looked up.

"-this isn't your burden to bear, let me handle Laurel, just focus on Randall."

She nodded.

* * *

Felicity was staring at her monitor, so deep in thought, that she didn't hear Oliver, Roy and Digg bounding down the stairs.

Oliver set aside his bow, before stepping behind her to place a probing hand on her shoulder.

She jumped instantly, her hand going to her chest. "Oliver, you scared the crap out of me! Don't do that!"

He narrowed his eyes in concern. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"Why so jumpy Blondie?" Roy asked, peaking over her shoulder at the computer screen. "You watching porn or something?"

Felicity spluttered as she glared at him, the heat of her gaze left her cheeks flushed. "No, you idiot! I was not!"

Digg shook his head in the back while Oliver struggled not to laugh at her indignation. His inclination for laughter was short lived as he caught sight of what she'd been staring at.

"Argus?" He questioned, before staring at the name. "You found Randall?"

She pursed her lips. "Not quite. But I did find something interesting."

Digg walked towards the separate monitor across the room and brought up the information on his screen. "I don't get it, Randall is Argus? This makes no sense."

Felicity nodded. "Exactly my thoughts- this whole case keeps getting weirder. Trying Argus was a long shot, I didn't expect to find anything, but here he is." She waved towards her screen.

"What's his connection with Tobias Clarke?" Digg asked, reading through the description.

"That's where it gets confusing. According to Argus database, Thomas Randall and Tobias Clarke are one and the same."

"You mean Randall is an alias?" Oliver asked, brows furrowing.

"It would explain the cloaking, and the professional hack work." Digg observed.

"Looks like it,  _and_  it would explain the whole 'brain tumor survivor- good Samaritan turned cop killer' situation."

"But why would an Argus agent attack two cops? And how did he manage to escape? From what I can tell about Waller, she doesn't exactly seem like the forgiving type." Roy snorted.

Felicity shook her head. "That's because Clarke isn't an Argus employee-

"He's a target." Oliver finished, as he read through the profile.

Digg raised his brow. "An Argus target who was able to sit in a Starling jail cell for a year and a half? Either Waller's gone soft, or we're missing something- and I've always been the first to say that it's more likely that pigs will fly out of my ass, than Waller showing even a hint of morality."

Felicity cringed. "That's a disturbing thought- and unfortunately accurate." She muttered, as she swiveled back to the monitors. "I can see if I can find more, but I'm not hopeful."

"What about Tobias Clarke? What do we have on him?"

Felicity snorted. "Short answer? Nothing. This Clarke person is the definition of a ghost. He literally does not  _exist- like anywhere_."

She huffed and her eyes flashed with a spark of anger and something that looked like self doubt. The others could tell how much this was frustrating her.

Oliver clenched his fist and felt the familiar anger and unease he usually felt when anything involving Argus came up, rise. "Then we take this to the source. It's time to go have a chat with Amanda Waller."

* * *

"Ah, Mister Queen, Miss Smoak and Mister Diggle; I can't say it's nice to see you- given the circumstances of our last encounter, although I was pleased to hear rumors of your death were untrue." She addressed the latter towards Oliver.

Oliver frowned; he was in no mood for small talk. "Tobias Clarke, who is he?"

Amanda's fingers stilled where they'd been drumming against her desk and her eyes narrowed. "How do you know that name? That is classified information." Her cold eyes turned towards Felicity.

"I suppose you are to blame. Tell me, have you ever considered a career at Argus, Miss Smoak?"

Oliver glared. " _Tobias_.  _Clarke_."

Amanda dragged her gaze lazily back towards Oliver. "Like I said, Mister Queen, that information is classified and last I checked, you were no longer an Argus employee."

Oliver flinched.

"Last I  _checked_  this was still my city, which means a cop killer- who happens to be an Argus target breaking out of prison-  _is_  my business."

Her lips twisted and she deliberated his words with measure.

"You have been misled." She answered finally.

Felicity snorted. " _Obviously_."

Waller simply glanced at her with a leveled expression.

"Twenty six years ago, the Argus database was infiltrated by a man named Damien Darhk."

Digg's brows furrowed. "Who the hell is Damien Darhk?"

"That isn't your concern, Mister Diggle. All you need to know is that we believe Tobias Clarke is an associate of Darhk's. Two years ago, we suspected Clarke had been working under the alias Randall. Thomas Randall showed up on our radar twice, once twenty three years ago, and then again, twenty one years later- both suspected times of Darhks activity in Starling. We tracked Thomas Randall, traced his movements and studied his behavior. A few months later, he shot two cops in the head and was subsequently arrested. After his arrest, we brought him in for interrogation where he willingly confessed to killing the two officers."

"So that's it? You let him go?" Digg asked in confusion.

"If by letting him go you mean sending him back to rot in prison, then yes." She drawled.

"He was an Argus target!" Digg pressed.

"No. He wasn't." Waller answered coolly. "Thomas Randall is not Tobias Clarke."

"Is it just me, or is everyone super confused right now?" Felicity murmured.

Oliver gave a sudden scoff. "You don't know what Clarke looks like, do you?"

Waller scowled. "Unfortunately, Clarke was never identified. We have very limited information on him."

"So basically, this Clarke person could be anyone. How do you  _know_  it wasn't him?!" Digg demanded.

Waller's eyes flashed. "Are you suggesting Argus interrogation tactics are flawed, because I assure you, Mister Diggle, they are not. Tobias Clarke is ruthless, meticulous and evasive. Thomas Randall was a blubbering shell of a man."

"Thomas Randall may not be Tobias Clarke, but he's not just anyone. Normal people don't cloak their identities, much less well enough to leave no virtual prints or holes. It doesn't explain how and why he escaped from prison, or what his connection to Brick is. Or even why he killed those cops in the first place. Nothing about this makes sense!"

"Regardless, Miss Smoak, he was not the man we were searching for, and therefore is not our priority."

Felicity scoffed. "Right, of course, because helping the general public is way below Argus."

Amanda's eyes narrowed. "Do not presume to understand the ways in which Argus operates, Miss Smoak. You only know, what we _allow_ you to know." 

Felicity's jaw clenched. 

"How did Randall escape? You must have still been keeping tabs on him at the very least." Oliver snapped.

"In the confusion of the mass release of inmates, we weren't notified of his escape until it was too late. Rest assured, Mister Queen, we have allocated several resources to finding him."

"Obviously not enough, since he's still out there." Oliver answered scathingly. He spared her one last glare, before addressing the others.

"I think we're done here."

Both Felicity and Digg followed closely behind as he walked out of her office.

Amanda watched them leave, a calculating look in her eyes. Her fingers resumed their steady drum.


	12. Identity Crisis

Felicity, Digg and Roy sat on the floor of the foundry; files, images and Big Belly Burger sprawled around them, while Oliver worked up and down the salmon ladder.

"Okay so twenty-six years ago. What happened twenty-five years ago to make him disappear off the face of the earth? - Digitally speaking of course." Felicity frowned, tapping a red pen against her lips pensively.

"Well we know that's when he got the tumor removed." Digg murmured.

"Right, which is directly before everything goes wonky." Felicity said, nodding in agreement.

"Do we know where he got the tumor removed? Maybe they have records of the procedure- could have been surgery gone wrong?"

Felicity hummed in acknowledgement and tapped something into her tablet. "It doesn't say much- just that it was done at a private clinic in the Glades." She frowned. "According to a news article, Schuler and Hayman burned down three years later and- surprise, surprise, no digital records whatsoever. It was never rebuilt, no insurance claims were filed and there was no investigation. Can you say shady? Also interesting is that after a year of complete radio silence, Randall's digital activity spikes in 1992, which- if we do the math- coincides with what Waller was saying about Darhk."

"So what, we're back on Randall-Clarke conspiracy theories now?" Digg asked incredulously.

She shrugged. "Just saying."

Oliver landed heavily, his eyes glanced fleetingly at Felicity's pen, before he looked away and reached for a towel. "None of this explains the connection between Brick and Randall."

"Maybe he felt a kindred spirit in the cop killer." Roy shrugged, his voice only half mocking.

Felicity let out a frustrated breath. "We have all of these pieces, but nothing to connect them."

"There has to be something, we're just not seeing it." Digg insisted.

"Honestly, I know Amanda said Argus has nothing to do with this, but this has shadowy undercover organization written all over it. Maybe Randall isn't connected to Brick at all, maybe someone- and by someone I mean Amanda Waller- just wants us thinking that, so we're running around in circles and missing the big picture."

"Which is?" Roy pressed skeptically.

Felicity's shoulders sagged. "No idea."

* * *

Felicity was at her desk at Palmer Technologies, when her tablet let off a shrill beep. Her eyes widened and her fingers found Oliver's contact in her phone, before she even reached for the tablet. She had programmed her system to send out an alert as soon as facial recognition picked anything up on Thomas Randall.

She unlocked the tablet and opened the alert.

"Yeah." Oliver's curt voice spoke over the speaker.

Felicity's answer was laced with disbelief.

" _I got him_."

* * *

"We're sure it's him?!"

Oliver and Roy were already suited and John was loading his gun when Felicity rushed into the foundry.

"Yeah, facial recognition had him outside the precinct." She answered breathlessly, wasting no time in catching her breath, before tapping into security feeds from outside the station, where he'd opened fire, before taking hostages inside a nearby small cafe.

"How many people?"

Felicity's fingers flew over the keyboard as her program scrubbed through all security footage outside the cafe.

"From what I can tell, around ten to twelve."

Digg's brows were furrowed deep in confusion. "This makes no sense. He goes from model citizen, to cop killer, to hostage taker? This guy is spiraling."

"Something tells me crisis negotiation isn't going to work on him." Felicity murmured, biting her lip nervously.

Oliver gave a hard nod. "Keep us updated." He said, before looking to the others. "Let's go."

* * *

Felicity watched the live feed with growing tension, as SWAT teams took position around the building at both front and back entrances, herding bystanders away from the area.

Fifteen minutes later, her monitors indicated an incoming call from a secured SCPD phone line to a landline telephone inside the cafe. "They're attempting to make contact with the cafe now." She informed, pacing the floor of the foundry nervously.

Oliver increased the speed on his bike, Dig and Roy following closely behind in the van. "Is he picking up?"

"No, the line is still ringing. I don't think he plans on talking to anyone."

She adjusted the feed to focus on Randall's face through the large, bay windows of the cafe, and what she could make out, made her shiver lightly. If his blank facial expression was anything to go by, he was not the Randall Thomas from his profile. Once again, she wondered what could have happened in this man's life to change him so drastically.

"Felicity, get me the blueprints for the building." Oliver's voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"You thinking there's another entrance?" Digg's voice crackled over the comms.

"Here's hoping." Oliver responded.

Felicity accessed the building's schematics with ease. "You're in luck. There's an entrance through the roof, it leads to two sets of stairs leading down to the cafe. I'm sending the image to your phones now."

"I'll stay on the ground, keep an eye out from the outside- make sure there aren't any surprises." Digg said.

Oliver gave a noise of approval, before revving his engine.

* * *

He and Roy were perched on a rooftop two buildings away, leaning over Oliver's phone as they studied the layout. "Take the left stairs, I'll take the right and remember, take the shot only if you're sure you have it. We can't risk putting hostages in the line of fire."

"Oliver, there's a call from Captain Lance coming through." Felicity warned, before forwarding the call.

"Captain." Oliver greeted.

"I'm assuming you're on this." He answered curtly.

Oliver turned to the barricade of officers and caught sight of Lance, speaking into his phone, standing off to the side, glancing at the cafe every few seconds. "Yes. Avoid any confrontation. We have something planned, but we can't have any unexpected trouble."

"There are about twelve innocent people in there." Lance pressed. "We can't just sit by, while you initiate a fight with a cop killer."

"I'm not asking you to sit by, I'm asking for time. He's obviously not willing to negotiate and your hands are tied- unless you want to send officers in, guns blazing."

Oliver took his silence as agreement.

"We go in quiet and under the radar. I'll let you know when it's safe to infiltrate."

Lance grunted his understanding with some hesitation, before ending the call. Oliver watched him walk towards the chief of police, before turning back to Roy. "Okay, let's go. Digg, you in position?"

John answered affirmatively and Oliver and Roy quickly made their way over rooftops, landing smoothly on the cafe.

Oliver slammed the lock on the door twice with his bow, before it shattered. He pushed it open only to find an empty and closed off room. Oliver narrowed his eyes, scowling at the walls.

"Felicity, it's a dead end!"

 _"What?_  Hang on."

She quickly reviewed permits and renovation contracts. When she answered, Oliver could hear the frown in her voice. "It looks like the new owners dry walled over a door, if you hit it at the right spot, it should crack open relatively easily."

Oliver paced along the length of the far wall once, before stepping forward and aiming a hard kick. The wall crumbled, revealing an old, weathered, wooden door.

"Hang tight, I found the door."

He heard her sigh in relief.

They cleared the rubble, before Oliver heaved it open (with some difficulty from its disuse). He nodded at Roy, before carefully stalking in the direction of a set of stairs he knew led towards the kitchen.

Oliver could hear moans and sobs as he took his position on the east side of the building. "I'm in position, Roy." He murmured over the comm.

He waited for Roy's affirmation, before drawing his bow. He felt uneasy engaging with Randall when there were so many innocent people in danger of getting in the way, but he'd left them no choice. At least this way, Oliver could get a clean shot, before any gunfire was exchanged. He also trusted his aim with a bow, more than he did the restraint of the SCPD against a suspect who had killed two of their own.

Before he could turn the corner, Felicity's frantic voice stopped him short.

"Oliver, stop!"

He froze. "What is it?"

"I- I think he knows."

Before he could respond, gunshots sounded and he ducked instinctively as bullets tore through the wall that separated him from Randall. Screams wrought the air and he rushed to take cover behind a second wall, through the kitchen. More gunshots sounded, Oliver assumed at a location Roy was. He grunted and fingered his leather jacket, where blood pooled just below his chest.

"Oliver?! Are you okay?" The fear in Felicity's voice was palpable.

"It's fine, I'm fine." He grunted, forcing himself to swallow back the pain. Oliver gritted his teeth and hissed. "Roy!"

"I'm okay." He breathed over the comm. "Son of a bitch not only knows we're here, but exactly where we are."

Oliver swore under his breath and braced himself as another barrage of bullets shot in his direction. Before he could order Roy to retreat, the sound of shattering windows made him turn and leap around.

His bow was already drawn and pointed at a point in the room where Randall had stood before, but was now lying unconscious on the ground. He furrowed his brows and looked outside.

And then did a double take.

What looked like an armored suit, was hovering above the barricade of officers, all of whom were staring up, slack jawed.

Oliver switched his aim, his bow unwavering as he glared towards it.

He heard Roy mutter obscenity from behind when the suit simply saluted him, before flying off.

"What the hell was that?" Digg breathed over the comm.

Oliver didn't answer, staring into the distance where it had disappeared.

"Uh...Oliver."

He snapped his head towards Roy and followed his gaze to the crowd of hostages, all pressed low to the ground, watching him with a mixture of fear and awe.

Pushing all thoughts off the bizarre events to the side, he activated his voice modulator before speaking into the comm. "Contact Lance, tell him the assailant is unconscious and hostages are walking out."

Felicity's response was oddly breathless.

* * *

"So are we going to talk about  _Tin Man_ , or are we just going to pretend it never happened? Because honestly, between Speedy Gonzales over in Central City and now this crap; things are getting a little out of hand. " Digg said, folding his arms over his chest.

Oliver flinched slightly as Felicity pulled the bullet out, hands shakier than usual grazing at the side of the wound. "Sorry- sorry!" She cringed, dropping the bullet into a tray and wiping the wound clean. Her teeth grazed with an almost ruthless abandon at her lips. Oliver frowned.

"Hey, you okay?"

Her head snapped up. "What? Yeah, I'm fine, just really tired of pulling bullets out of you." She chuckled nervously. When Oliver continued to watch her questioningly, she sighed.

"This one was really close to your chest. A little higher and-

He caught her hand and held her gaze pointedly. "It wasn't. I'm fine."

Felicity licked her lips as his eyes bore into her and she forced herself to pull away. She averted her gaze to anywhere but him and nodded. "Yeah."

Thankfully, at that moment, the door to the foundry slammed against the wall as someone threw it open and they all looked up in shock as Thea sprinted down the stairs. Oliver hopped off the med table when her frenzied eyes found his.

She rushed towards him. "Ollie." She breathed. "Oh my god, are you okay?! I was so worried, and-

She promptly gasped a sigh of relief and rocketed into his chest, Felicity winced in concern as he stumbled back with a flinch, but he nodded at her, over his sister's head.

She gave a small smile at the overwhelming relief in his eyes, as he gripped his sister in an equally tight embrace.

"I'm so sorry Ollie, I've been such a bitch- and so selfish. I'm so, so sorry." She breathed.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Thea." He whispered firmly.

She gave him one last affectionate squeeze before pulling away. "Shit, sorry!" She exclaimed, as a fresh pool of blood gathered at his wound.

He shook his head as Felicity rushed to press a cloth over it. "It's fine. I think I got blood on your shirt though."

"Thea let out a breath of watery laughter. "There's a sentence you don't hear every day." She wiped her wet cheeks. "God, I don't even remember the last time I cried. Feels kinda good."

Felicity smiled. "Well they do say crying is supposed to be therapeutic."

Thea gave another chuckle. "Ugh, whoever said that, obviously didn't know my thirteen to eighteen year old self." She stepped forward.

"Thea Queen, by the way; you must be Felicity Smoak."

" _That's me_. I'd shake your hand, but..." Felicity shrugged towards her hands, both bloodied and pressed tightly against Oliver's abdomen.

The younger Queen gave a nervous chuckle. "Not exactly how I pictured meeting Ollie's team, although given what you guys do, I shouldn't be surprised."

Felicity offered her a small smile. "Yep, just an average night for 'Team Arrow'."

Oliver gave a dejected sigh. "We  _don't_...call it that."

* * *

After Felicity finished patching Oliver up, she called Captain Lance, who assured her that Thomas Randall was secured in a hospital room, where he was being given medical attention for whatever he'd been hit with. Felicity had a feeling explaining things like 'dwarf star' and 'compressed light beams', wouldn't go over very well- and she still had yet to speak with Ray- so she kept her mouth shut.

Lance promised he would call when Randall regained consciousness. Felicity was still very much curious to find out exactly who this Randall character was, and how he'd managed to essentially erase parts of himself from existence and thereby stump Felicity, who considered herself to be quite an expert on recovering information and buried data.

She asked to be excused not long after, unable to continue playing dumb as Roy and Diggle discussed the Atom suit. Felicity was tragically aware of the irony in a Vegas born girl with a terrible poker face.

Oliver had left with Thea earlier, which Felicity was incredibly grateful for. She'd known continuing to work with Oliver would be difficult, considering the circumstances, but it didn't help that when Oliver looked at her like he'd done earlier, it made her forget about everything else.

They needed boundaries- bolded, italicized, underlined  _boundaries-_ and she needed to set them if she had any hope of moving on with her life.

It also didn't help that Oliver read her like a book. Felicity couldn't lie to him about Ray much longer, but the secret wasn't hers to tell.

Once outside, she allowed herself to take a deep sigh of relief, before pulling out her phone. Felicity scrolled until she found the name she was looking for, and then waited as the call went to voicemail.

"Ray, I'm on my way to Palmer Tech- you'd better be there. We need to talk."


	13. Will You Tell Me The Truth, Even If It Kills Me?

"Okay, before you yell at me, you should know that I saved twelve innocent people today- plus the Arrow- and I kept the police out of the cross hairs, all without killing anyone or blowing anything up...although I may be responsible for some broken windows and destroyed furniture."

After flying away from the scene, Ray had come back to Palmer Tech and immediately began performing tests on the suit, making sure that nothing was dysfunctional. He'd also had a bout of inspiration on his way back and began work on those ideas after results concluded the suit was fine. Knee deep in blueprints and tech jargon, was how Felicity found him, when she walked inside.

Felicity sighed. "I have to admit, the suit came in handy,  _and_  you managed not to kill yourself- which is always a bonus."

Ray grinned. "So we consider this a win."

"It doesn't take away from the fact that now everyone knows the Atom exists; including a very arrow happy vigilante who is very protective of this city...and doesn't really take well to...well...  _anything_ -  _or so I've heard_."

Ray gave her a look. "Uh-huh, seems to me like you've 'heard' a lot about the Arrow."

Felicity bristled. "I read- a lot- anyway; my point is you have to be careful. You have good intentions, but no one else knows that, right now, besides me."

Ray frowned. "You're right."

"-And not to mention-  _wait_ -"

Felicity blinked. "-I am? I mean I  _am_ , but you're usually a lot more difficult about it."

He shrugged. "I get it. I have to be more discreet, gain trust." He nodded to himself and Felicity felt slightly fearful of the new glint in his eye.

She narrowed her eyes. "You have that look."

He stared back innocently. "What look?"

"- _That_  look!"

"Felicity, don't be ridiculous, I don't have a look."

" _Oh_  you have a look, and you're wearing it right now Mister 'I have a look'."

"What does this look, look like exactly, because, you know...curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Ray, and judging by the expression that tells me you're about to do something incredibly stupid, that's not too far off." Felicity answered pointedly.

* * *

Thea's fingers nervously played with a corkscrew while her legs swung aimlessly over the counter. The mood in the kitchen was somber. She and Oliver had come back to the apartment immediately after Felicity finished patching his wound. They'd sat in silence for a long time, before Oliver proceeded to tell her the truth of why and how he'd become what he was. Thea had barely interrupted; listening attentively as he explained.

"Honestly, when I heard about the hostage situation today, I didn't know how to feel, but I  _knew_  I wanted them safe. And then I heard that the Arrow was there and I knew he would protect them, but then I remembered  _you_  are the Arrow. I realized all this time that I'd selfishly thought about myself, and how much I'd been hurt, I'd forgotten about all the good you've done and all the people you've helped keep safe, including me." She chewed anxiously at her lip.

"Every day, you go out and you put yourself in danger to fight bad people who do bad things and it just..." She released a long sigh. "You're a hero, Ollie and regardless of everything, you've always been a hero-

Her voice cracked and her face twisted as moisture gathered behind her eyes.

Oliver swallowed the swell in his throat as she raised her eyes to stare into his. "Thank you." She breathed. And she was- truly. Grateful not just for the truth, but for all the lives he'd saved and for being exactly what she'd always believed him to be, growing up.

"I'm so sorry, Ollie, for everything, but I'm ready now, I'm ready to listen and I'm ready to understand."

Oliver let out a sigh of relief as he felt one burden lift, but also fear as another burden settled. It was fear for his sister and what the ultimate truth would do to her. He wiped her tears and gripped her hands tight into his own. "I love you, Thea and I will always protect you, never forget that."

* * *

They stayed up, talking and listening. Reacquainting each other with the people they'd become. Although it was still painful to think that Thea had been so hurt by him, that she'd run straight into the arms of Malcolm Merlyn, he was beginning to understand why spending the summer away from Starling had been important to her, and why spending it with Malcolm had transformed her into someone she believed was stronger- someone who wouldn't let themselves be left vulnerable.

It was late when Thea finally called it a night, before retiring up to her room. Unfortunately for Oliver, sleep wasn't a luxury afforded to him anymore. So he stepped out of the apartment and instead of going to Verdant to suit up like he normally would, Oliver rode his bike to the pier, parking it on the dock where the Queen's Gambit had once been stationed.

Oliver sat at the edge, looking out over the bay where it all began, before closing his eyes, letting his head fall into his lap.

His father, his mother...Sara... they'd all been destined for death the day he set foot on the Gambit, and not for the first time in his life, he wondered what life would be like, had he never gotten on that boat; wondered who that Oliver Queen would have been, today?

His father would be dead. Robert's death had been set in motion long before the island. But Moira would likely have still been alive. Thea could have grown up with a better life. It was these thoughts that plagued his mind, when something behind him stirred.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver murmured with ill disguised contempt.

Malcolm Merlyn slinked out of the shadows and stepped forward. He stared out over the water vacantly. "I followed you here from the apartment, I figured we could finally discuss matters without the interruption of your... _associate's_ blatant hatred of me."

Oliver remembered the absolute loathing on Felicity's face, the last time Malcolm had come to the Foundry unannounced. He glared into the distance. " _What_ , do you  _want_ , Malcolm." He asked slowly, lips twisting.

"I want to know what your plans are for surviving, when the League comes for us."

Oliver scoffed. "Us?"

Malcolm raised his head fluidly. "Whether you like it or not, Oliver, we are on the same side. We fight for the same thing."

Oliver stood abruptly, staring into Malcolm's face with unadulterated revulsion. "Do.  _Not_. We share nothing of the same common interest. You stand for yourself. You are a despicable excuse for a man and a corrupt father. You killed Tommy, you turned Thea- my innocent baby sister- into a killer and you murdered Sara."

"Think what you will of me, Oliver, but the facts remain the same. You need me, and I need you. No one knows the League better than I. I can help you." He sighed then and a sliver of regret passed over his face. "I may have done some terrible things, but my love for Thea is real."

"You have a funny way of showing it." Oliver snarled.

Malcolm stepped back and folded his arms behind him. "This world does not operate in black and white, Oliver. There are some things you will never understand- some things that are greater and beyond you- but if you believe anything, believe this- I will do anything, to protect my daughter." His eyes bore deep into Oliver's.

"You and I are more alike than you think. We have both lived to see the world for what it truly is, we have both lied to the ones we love and we have both done, and will continue to do  _anything_ \- whatever the costs- to protect them; even if that means hurting them." He stepped forward again. "So I ask you once more, Oliver. What are your plans for surviving, when the League of Assassins come for us?"

* * *

"What happened?!" Oliver exclaimed, as he bounded down the stairs in a flurry of bewilderment the next day.

Felicity turned around and shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know! Lance said he was secure. He said there were cops stationed all around the hospital and people watching him around the clock. The bullet came through the window, a clean shot right into Randall's chest." Felicity collapsed into her chair and rubbed her fingers over her temple.

It was only noon, yet her head was already throbbing and it had everything to do with the fact that the only person, who could explain the mystery around Thomas Randall's case, was now dead. Shot right in front of the SCPD's nose.

"Obviously someone wanted to keep Randall's mouth shut." Digg sighed.

"Someone who was confident enough to snipe him right in front of the cops." Roy added.

"I think it's safe to say Argus was lying." Felicity mumbled.

Oliver clenched his jaw and let out a breath. "Okay, Felicity, I want you to find out anything you can about the bullet that killed him- and see if you can't find out if our shooter was caught on any cameras. Digg, talk to Lyla; find out what she knows, or what she can find out." He rubbed a weary hand across his face.

Digg frowned. "You okay? You look like shit?"

Oliver made a face. "This is just really bad timing, with the League... and Thea..."

"The League? Are they here? Did they find you?" Felicity asked worriedly.

He pursed his lips. "Not exactly, but Malcolm spoke to me last night. He may be a sociopath, but he's not wrong about the fact that we haven't been spending enough time preparing for when they do, eventually come."

Felicity stood. "Wait a minute, you  _spoke_  to Merlyn? Why? And since when do we listen to  _Malcolm Merlyn_?"

"Since he makes a valid point." Oliver sighed.

She scoffed. "Oliver, he is the master of manipulation. You can't trust anything that comes out of that mans mouth."

"I have no choice, Felicity!" Oliver snapped.

Her face tightened and he immediately softened his features apologetically. "Regardless of what he's done... right now, Merlyn is our best bet to understanding how the League operates. He can give us inside knowledge that we don't have." Oliver breathed hard as he remembered Malcolm's words from last night.

"We have to think of the greater good, and sometimes that means making decisions regardless of how we feel- decision we're not always going to be proud of." The implications in his words were apparent.

Both Digg and Roy shifted awkwardly behind them.

This wasn't the first time Felicity had been angry with him, or argued with him regarding his decisions. He couldn't count how many times she'd yelled at him and called him out for his stupidity, but the look of sheer disappointment with which she stared at him then, was worse than any insult or injury he had ever received.

Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke. "I get it. I'm not a soldier. I'm not going to stand here and pretend I know what it's like to go into battle. But I believe that there are easy choices and then there are right choices. I don't know what the right thing to do here, is. But if you can't come out the other end, proud of the person you are... then what are you really fighting for?"

The sword through his gut had been less painful than this, and when Felicity turned away, claiming she needed some air, he all but sagged to the ground.

Roy went after her, leaving Digg and Oliver in the foundry alone. Oliver could practically feel the silent disapproval radiating off of his friend. His fingers clenched into fists and Oliver felt the sting of his nails pressing deeply into his skin.

"John, what makes me any different than Malcolm Merlyn?" He whispered.

Diggle let out an audible sigh. "Your heart, Oliver; but you have to remember to use it."

* * *

Thea was stocking the storage room with liquor, when Oliver stepped inside.

"Hey Ollie, what's u-

She frowned at the expression on his face and rushed towards him. "What's wrong?!"

His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed painfully. "I have to tell you something." His voice cracked, hoarse with fear and regret for what he was about to confess.

Thea's forehead knitted together apprehensively. "Ollie, you're scaring me, what's going on?"

"I didn't- I don't-

He rubbed his hand over his mouth anxiously.

"-I never wanted this for you. I only wanted to protect you- to keep you away from this life." His face twisted and to Thea's absolute shock, moisture gathered behind his eyes. "I failed and you will never know how sorry I am for that."

Thea's eyes were wide.

"But no matter what, you have to know,  _you are good_. You have such a pure heart. You love so deeply and so easily, which is why you were able to forgive Malcolm- to give him a piece of your heart that he will never deserve. A love he took advantage of."

"Oliver-

" _Sara's dead_ ,  _Thea_."

She staggered back in shock and breathed disbelief. "What? That's not- but she..." She trailed off incoherently, unable to understand, before gasping, "Oh my _god,_ Ollie! When?!"

"Four months ago."

"How?!"

Oliver closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were dark, glazed over with grief. He stared over her shoulder unseeingly. "Malcolm killed her."

Thea let out a frantic breath of laughter. "No. No, he was in Corto Maltese- with me."

Oliver's voice was hard and slow. "He didn't kill her directly. He used someone. He put them under the influence of a drug, so she wouldn't know what she was doing." His eyes refused to meet Thea's, as his breathing became shallow.

She took another step back, raising her head almost defiantly as her mind began to piece together what he was saying. "She?" Her voice trembled. "She, who?"

His eyes finally found hers, and everything she needed to know, was reflected by the depth of agony held within them.

"You killed Sara."

There was a deafening silence as she stood frozen, like she couldn't understand what his words meant, but the silence only lasted a moment before she moaned, unable to breathe and unable to think. Her mind raced with memories and images that weren't there, trying and failing to comprehend- to combine her truth with _the_ truth. "Oh god- _oh god_." She pulled at her hair, gasping for air as she paced the room like a caged animal, eyes unseeing.

Oliver's head sagged to his chest. There was nothing he could say to her- he knew- nothing that would be able to absolve her of the guilt that was eating at her, destroying her from the inside.

Grief coursed through her veins and- incapable of processing the overwhelming despair- she turned to facts. "Sara- _Sara was my friend_! I couldn't-  _I didn't_ -

She let out a sob.

Oliver took a tentative step forwards, extending his arms towards her. "You didn't- you weren't  _you_ , Thea!" He urged, desperately.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME?" She screamed.

Oliver's eyes pleaded with her. "You had no control over your actions-  _you cannot blame yourself_!"

"You were right about Malcolm, okay!" She shrieked, ignoring him as she continued to spiral.

"He doesn't love me, I'm an idiot!" She cried, before collapsing to the floor, and for the first time in months, Oliver saw real vulnerability, just a young woman who craved the love of a father.

"No, you're not." Oliver whispered hoarsely.

"I'm sorry,  _I'm so sorry_." She sobbed, gripping her stomach as she rocked back and forth.

Oliver rushed to kneel in front of her. "No. No Thea." He moaned and then pulled her into his arms, cradling her as she continued to apologize through her sobs.

Oliver put his lips to her damp forehead. Malcolm Merlyn had destroyed and corrupted too much of their lives already; Oliver would not let him do so anymore. Felicity's words to him echoed in his ears. He knew now, without a doubt, exactly what he was fighting for. He was fighting for his sister. And he would win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogue from Oliver's confession to Thea is taken from episode 3x14 'The Return'. I really liked how they wrote that scene and also enjoyed they way Willa and Stephen acted it out- very emotionally charged.


	14. So Mind Control Is A Thing Now?

Thea’s hangover was something out of a nightmare as she stumbled down the stairs, cursing the suspect of the incessant knocking at this ungodly hour of- she glanced at the clock- one in the afternoon...

_Fine_ , but in the last twenty four hours, she’d learned that her biological father- a man whom she’d truly believed had changed his evil and deceitful ways, a man whom she’d trusted to protect her and make her strong, a man who she’d _stupidly_ believed loved her- had somehow brainwashed and used her in his sick and demented scheme to free himself from a _League of Assassins_ , by forcing her to kill Sara. _Sara Lance._

She deserved to drown alone in her misery. She deserved to _rot_ in it.

Thea tasted bile in her throat again and it had nothing to do with the two empty bottles of vodka lying on the floor of her room. In fact, she’d vomited all the contents of her stomach, long before touching the alcohol. 

Dragging her feet forward, struggling to remember the concept of ‘one foot before the other’, she threw open the door and squinted at her visitor. For a moment, in her alcohol/misery/trauma induced haziness, she didn’t recognize the pretty, blonde in glasses- the girl’s general brightness straining her eyes and coaxing a particularly painful throb through her skull. But then she remembered and her eyes narrowed.

“My brother’s not here.” She sneered in a very good impression of herself when she’d been an over indulgent, snobbish child- with every intention to slam the door shut.

“Actually, I’m here for you.” Felicity said matter of factly. Thea stared at her for a moment, searching her face for signs of sympathy or pity. She found none.

Thea scoffed, before turning around, leaving the door open behind her. “Did my brother send you here? You can tell him that I don’t need someone to pat my back and tell me everything’s going to be okay.”

“Good, because I’m not here to do either of those things.” Felicity said, closing the door firmly behind her.

“So then why are you here? No offence, but I’m not exactly in the mood to entertain.”

Felicity looked around the wide room in appraisal, before walking over to the windows, her heels clacking across the hardwood floors. She peered over the city pensively. “This really is a an amazing view.”

Before Thea could snort out a sarcastic remark, she continued.

“I remember about a year ago, Sebastian Blood walked into Oliver’s office and said the same thing, although he was a little less complimentary- ‘ _you can see all the destruction your mother caused_ ’ were his exact words.”

Thea winced.

“At the moment, I remember thinking he was wrong. What he should have said, was all the destruction Malcolm Merlyn caused.” Felicity turned around.

“People love to remember the part Moira Queen played in the undertaking, and I mean- they’re not entirely wrong. Your mother wasn’t exactly a saint- _sorry_ \- but somehow everyone forgets what a monster Merlyn is.”

Thea didn’t really know what to make of this girl, she’d just insulted her dead mother, yet somehow Thea found herself warming up to her. “Yeah, he’s evil- what else is new? Is that what you came here to tell me? Because I get it.”

“No, Thea, you don’t, because, like your brother tends to do, you also feel an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame and a knack for internalizing things, even when you have no business doing so. I’m not here to offer you my pity; I’m here to offer you the cold hard truth, which is that Malcolm Merlyn is an awful, terrible person. In fact, if I believed in the Devil- which I’m not really sure if I do or don’t, my bubba and I have opposing views on that- _but that’s really beside the point_ \-- he would be it. He uses people and he hurts them without remorse because that is the person that he is. Just like loving and trusting, unconditionally and blindly is the person that you are. You can’t change yourself any more than Merlyn can. You want to feel guilty and miserable because you chose to trust and believe the best in your father- fine, but Sara’s death? That’s on Merlyn and on Merlyn alone.”

Thea sunk into the sofa, her rough demeanor deflating instantly. “You don’t even know me.”

Felicity smiled gently, before joining her. “No, but I know your brother.”

There was silence.

“I had an argument with Oliver- well... I have a lot of arguments with Oliver- mostly because he’s a hard headed ass sometimes- _but again, really not the point_.”

Thea held back a reluctant smile. _Who was this girl?_

“The point is that Oliver also feels guilt, guilt for not protecting you from Malcolm-

Thea opened her mouth to argue.

“But you and I both know how stupid that is. Just like you taking blame for killing Sara is stupid. I have a bit of experience when it comes to neglectful fathers and an overwhelming need to feel parental love. It’s crippling. But I’ve learned that there is only so much responsibility you can take.”      

Thea swallowed the swell in her throat. “I just- I hate him _so_ much. I hate him for doing this to me, I hate him for fooling me into loving him- _I hate him for making me hate myself_!” Her voice caught and Felicity reached for her hand, cradling it between her own.

“I know. And you have the right to. But don’t let that hate consume you.”

Thea let out an animalistic growl. “I want him to suffer! The way I am- the way Sara probably did.” She released a strangled sob. “Oh _god,_ I don’t even know if she was in pain.” Her breath rattled.

“I’ll call the League myself, they can take care of him and he’ll finally be out of our lives.” She spat furiously. Felicity watched her pupils dilate and whip back and forth frantically.

She tightened her hands around Thea’s fingers and leaned forward vehemently. “ _Listen to me_ , he has already taken so much from you, so much from your family. The only leverage he has left against you is to take away the things that make you different from him- that make you human. Don’t give him what he wants. I hate him too. I want to see him get justice for everything that he’s done, but sentencing him to death is not the way to do it. Oliver has fought so hard to keep you away from the League, don’t give up now. I _promise_ you, that Malcolm Merlyn will get what he deserves, but not by your hands...okay?”

Felicity’s eyes pleaded with Thea’s.

“What happened with your father?” Thea asked finally. Her voice was small, but she looked for the moment, lucid enough not to make any rash decisions that would put not only her life, but Oliver’s life in danger as well. Felicity let out a sigh of relief.

“He left, and eventually I let him go.” She answered simply.

* * *

When Oliver had come back to the Foundry, looking ashen and completely devastated, Felicity’s anger and disappointment immediately dissipated, instead fading to concern.

He’d collapsed in his chair, before telling them that he’d confessed the truth to Thea, something she hadn’t taken well to. In fact, according to him, she’d completely shut down after suffering through an anxiety attack and then stolen a few bottles of liquor from her stock, before fighting him off and taking a cab- he hoped- back home.

It took a lot of convincing on Felicity’s part to keep him from rushing home. She argued that it wouldn’t do any good attempting to speak to her when she was distraught and hysterical and that the best thing to do, was to give her time- _time alone_ \- to process things. Even if that meant drowning herself in alcohol.

_“That’s not the absolute worst thing she could do.”_ Felicity had gently reminded him, as he buried his head in his hands. _“Give her tonight.”_

_“But what about tomorrow?”_ Roy had insisted and Felicity knew it was just as hard for him, as it was for Oliver, to leave her alone. _“She’s vulnerable and probably not thinking straight.”_

_“We’ll talk to her tomorrow. But right now she just needs to be left alone.”_

_“I think maybe you should be the one to speak to her.”_

Felicity had looked to Diggle in a mix of surprise and confusion. _“What?”_

_“Sometimes it’s easier to talk to someone you don’t know- besides, if he’s any indication,-_

_Diggle jabbed his thumb in Oliver's direction._ _"-you’re an expert at talking down a Queen.”_

That, and Oliver’s blank eyes, silently pleading with her, had led Felicity to the loft the next afternoon.

She stuck around for a few hours, making sure that Thea showered and sobered up enough to stomach a light lunch.

She was texting something on her phone when Thea finally finished loading the dishes.

“That was your brother, he’s coming up now.” Felicity explained when Thea looked at her expectantly.

She rolled her eyes. “You gave him the all clear, then?”

Felicity shot back a wry smile. “Something like that.”

As if on cue, the door creaked open and Oliver peered around hesitantly, before stepping inside. His face was haggard- like he hadn’t slept at all. Although, when Thea offered a small smile in return, his shoulders lifted considerably higher.

They were all that was left of the Queen family, and Felicity knew they would find their way back again. They had to. She squeezed Thea’s arm encouragingly and smiled. “I’ll leave the two of you to it then.”

“You’re leaving?” Thea asked in surprise.

Felicity’s eyes met Oliver’s fleetingly before she nodded. “I have some work to finish up at the office.”

“It’s Saturday.” Thea exclaimed, appalled at the thought of paperwork on a weekend.

Felicity’s lip quirked. “If Oliver had done some work on a Saturday, he’d probably still be CEO.” She quipped playfully. “No rest for the wicked.”

Thea’s expression was thoughtful as she stared back. When Felicity tilted her head to the side questioningly, the younger girl shuffled nervously and then taking both Felicity and Oliver by complete surprise, abruptly threw her arms around Felicity’s neck.

“ _Thank you_. You didn’t have to be here, but you were. I’m glad Ollie has you in his life.”

Felicity caught herself before she could stumble back and wrapped a tentative arm around Thea’s waist. “He needs you in it too. Don’t give up.” She whispered back, before pulling away.

“I’ll be right back Speedy.” Oliver murmured, as he followed her outside. Felicity was painfully aware of his hand, floating lightly above the small of her back. He closed the door behind him and pursed his lips.

“She seems a lot better.”

Felicity squeezed his hand. “She will be. Thea’s strong- stronger than most people give her credit for.” She pulled back and shrugged. “I know the feeling.”

Oliver’s face softened for the first time since he’d descended the foundry, eyes warming in a particular way that usually had Felicity’s stomach in knots. She wasn’t blind or stupid; she knew that the way Oliver looked at her and spoke to her was different than the way he was with everyone else. She didn’t like to dwell much on what it meant.

“Anyone who questions your strength is an idiot. I want to say thank you, but that’s not enough- and it will never be enough.”

“I didn’t do anything Oliver.” Felicity said, suddenly feeling very weary.

“That’s not true.” He said immediately and before she could object- or babble- he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Take the night off. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He murmured.

When he disappeared behind the door, Felicity was left again to wonder where her boundaries had gone.

* * *

Felicity drove to the foundry the next day, with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach that she could not shake. Her phone had received an alert exactly forty five minutes ago from the Starling City morgue where Thomas Randall was being examined, where she may or may not have ‘hacked’ to ensure his results would be shared promptly with Team Arrow.

What she’d found was a lot more disconcerting than any of them could have anticipated, but Felicity waited until she was in the foundry and with the others, before jumping to any conclusions.

Still, something was nagging at her.

“What did you find?” Oliver asked abruptly as she descended the steps into the foundry.

“Its- it’s not good. But it explains a lot.” She looked around. “Where’s Roy?”

“He’s with Thea.”

Her eyes softened. “How is she?”

Felicity noticed he didn’t seem as worn today; which was good news.

“She’s alright; for the moment it seems she understands why keeping this from Laurel is necessary and it doesn’t look like she’ll be taking the first flight out to Nanda Parbat anytime soon.”

Felicity nodded. “That’s good. But sooner or later, we’re going to have to tell Laurel.”

Oliver rubbed his hand across his face. “I just don’t know if either of them are ready for that yet.”  

“Maybe, but that’s not up to you.” She said gently.

“Maybe not, but I’m not willing to risk the consequences just yet.” His voice left no room for argument and Felicity decided to let it go for the moment.

“So what did you find, Felicity?” John asked, effectively shifting the subject and she remembered what had brought her to the foundry in the first place.  

Felicity sank into her chair and opened the screen to the morgue’s results, before going straight to the point. “Nano-chip.”

“What?” John’s forehead wrinkled. It was almost comical.

“They did a full autopsy. Most injuries were from the Atom’s blast-

“The Atom?” Digg raised his brow.

Felicity coughed. “It’s what they’re calling him- the injuries were all non-lethal. He was killed on impact by a bullet straight through his chest. And before you ask, I checked already; the bullet is untraceable- surprise, surprise.” She took a breath and forced herself to keep on topic.

“The CAT scan is where it get’s weird.”

She swiped her screen and walked over to the secondary monitor. “There’s a whole bunch of biological brain jargon that I could bore you to death with, but I have a feeling it would go unappreciated, so simply speaking, they found a nano-chip, planted in the fore brain, where his tumor was surgically removed.”

“A _nano-chip_ \- as in something that can control your mind?” John asked disbelievingly.

 “I can’t know for sure what it was used for, unless I analyze the chip, but I mean, with everything we know, it seems likely. It explains the erratic behavior, the gaps... the murders. And then there’s the shady neurosurgery clinic that mysteriously burned down...”

Felicity turned wide and troubled eyes towards Oliver. “Have you seen this before? Is this Argus?”

He stared at the screen with a reserved silence. When he spoke, his voice was low and uncertain. “Amanda made a comment- a few years back, when she first brought me to Hong Kong. It was meant to be a passing remark...I thought it was an empty threat, but...”

“But?” Felicity bristled.

“I’m thinking it wasn’t so empty.” Digg muttered.

 “If they have this type of technology, who knows _what_ they’re capable of.” Felicity breathed horrified.

“Something went wrong though. Argus lost control. The destroyed clinic, Randall falling off the grid, killing two cops and then initiating a hostage situation- that’s sloppy, it’s not the way Argus operates.”

“Maybe this was Waller’s version of damage control. Test subject becomes a liability- what do you do? Make him seem like a nut and then get rid of him. Burn all the evidence and wipe your hands clean.” Digg suggested.

Oliver shook his head and then began to pace the room. “No, if this was damage control, there is no way Argus would have let them find the nano-chip, and the kill would have been quiet. Argus keeps things close to the belt. This wasn’t damage control, this was a spectacle.

“Someone’s putting on a show.” Digg breathed in sudden realization.

“Question is, for who?”

“I guess that explains Brick.” Felicity muttered. When they looked surprised, she raised her brow.  “What’s bigger news than a mass prison break- without the _prison break_?”

“I don’t like this. We already have the League breathing down our necks.” Oliver growled.

“We don’t even know what _this_ is.” Felicity exclaimed.

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, before turning towards her. “Contact Waller, tell her I want a meet. In the meantime, we re-focus on the League. Keep all eyes and ears you can spare, out. I want to know the moment anyone on Argus’ list pops up in Starling.” She nodded briskly.

“And Digg-

Oliver turned towards John, who straightened automatically, a soldier awaiting instruction.

“I think you have a wedding to prepare for.”


	15. Mr. and Mrs. Diggle

Oliver could hear the pianist playing softly behind the doors while guests trickled inside the church, smiling pleasantly at him as they passed. He nodded politely at the unfamiliar faces and figured most people in attendance were family and friends of Lyla. Digg’s family consisted of very few people, one of who was him and another of whom hadn’t arrived yet.

Oliver flashed an easy smile when he spotted John walking towards him. “Everything okay?”

Digg looked mildly annoyed as he nodded. “Yeah, just some confusion with the officiant; it’s all settled now. You seen Felicity yet? She texted me half an hour ago and said she was on her way.” His eyes swept across the room, occasionally waving at various guests.  

 “Not yet, Thea, Roy and Laurel are inside though.” Oliver answered.

“You have the ring, right?”

Oliver shot him a dry look. “Digg, as your best man, I think I managed to remember the ring.”

John mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but Oliver had stopped paying attention. He blinked dumbfounded at something in the distance and Digg followed his gaze to find Felicity, smiling and laughing with some girls as they pushed through a door on the other side of the lobby.

Digg’s lips turned up slowly at the corners and he clapped Oliver on the back in amusement, before grinning towards her.

She left the girls with a quick word, before making her way towards them. “Don’t you boys look handsome!” She laughed, stepping forward to press a light kiss on John’s cheek.

“Sorry I’m late. I wanted to see Lyla. She looks absolutely stunning by the way. You’re going to be floored, Digg.”

He smirked. “I always am.”

She chuckled. “John the romantic, who knew?”

He winked.

Felicity looked around just then and noted the weaning crowd. “It looks like almost everyone’s in. I should take my seat. I’ll see you guys inside.” She gave Digg one last smile, squeezed Oliver’s arm and breezed past them.

Oliver still hadn’t said a word.

* * *

Oliver was sure the ceremony had been beautiful. Like Felicity said, Lyla was stunning, baby Sara was an adorable ball of white lace and the vows had surely been intimate and insightful.

But hell if he could remember any of it.

Every time Oliver tried to focus, he was distracted by Felicity. Whether it was a flick of her wrist to push an errant strand of hair back, or quivering shoulders as she laughed with fondness at their friends’ vows; his entire being was focused on the vision in red silk.

He remembered the way her dress clung to every curve, the way it dipped in the back to reveal an expanse of smooth pale skin, the way her legs seemed endless as they disappeared beyond the modest hemline- _that really, considering her height, had no business looking so long_ \- and the way her eyes sparkled with a happiness and levity he hadn’t seen in months. She was happy and she was radiant- and Oliver was captivated.    

Somehow, he was able snap out of his reverie long enough to pass John the ring and then smile and clap along with everyone else, as the happy couple took their first kiss as husband and wife.

* * *

A band, situated on the far side of the room, played softly in the background while Oliver absorbed everything from the four tiered cake, to the floral arrangements which seemed to cover the entire space. It was definitely a far cry from quick vows in the middle of a desert.  

It felt strange, being here with everything that was happening, but this was John and Lyla’s night. Oliver would be hard pressed to let anything ruin it.

Couples swayed casually on the dance floor and he spotted Thea and Roy among them. He had spent a lot of time in the past few days with her, talking and listening. If recent events had taught him anything, it was that since he’d returned from the island, Oliver had not been a good older brother. He wanted to change that. There was still a lot Thea needed to work through, but the more time they spent together, the more he came to understand that she’d become someone strong enough to do it. The vision of her, laughing and twirling in Roy’s arms, was proof of that.

“Beautiful ceremony.”

He turned around with a start and felt his lips curl up at the corners. “Beautiful dress.” His eyes travelled belatedly towards the glass in her hand.

Laurel took notice and grinned. “Thanks- and don’t worry, it’s just sparkling water. Congratulations, by the way.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow.

“First time that you got through a wedding ceremony without getting piss drunk, peeing on any guests, or causing disorder of any kind. Tommy would be proud- or maybe not.” She laughed softly.

Oliver gave a huff of laughter, flinching at the memories. “Seems like a lifetime ago.”

Laurel looked at him wistfully. “It does, doesn’t it?”

“He’d be proud of you too.” Oliver murmured, smiling sadly at the last remaining connection to his old life.

They’d been through more than any two friends- turned lovers and then friends again- should ever have had to. Staring at her now, there was a sense of relief in knowing he didn’t feel the guilt-inflicted love that ‘Ollie’ had felt for her on the island, the suffocating anxiety he’d harbored pre-island, the misplaced fixation when he’d returned, or the distaste and anger during her drinking binge. Instead there was a tenderness formed through many years of friendship and an appreciation for the woman she’d become. Which was why it hurt to think about their distance the past few months, but losing Sara had been difficult for everyone. Laurel internalized grief much the same way he did- through self destructive behavior- and it scared him. It also scared him how easy it had become to lie to her- almost second nature. This lie, however, was necessary. To protect his sister, he would pay the costs.     

She frowned. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask, is everything alright with Thea?”

Oliver stiffened warily. “Why do you ask?”

Laurel shrugged. “I don’t know, she just seems a little distant. I thought you said she was beginning to come to terms with the Arrow.”   

Under the impression that his grim reaction was in response to Thea’s distance, Laurel settled a placating hand over his arm. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m sure she just needs more time.” 

Then to Oliver’s relief, she gestured towards a waiter and plucked a glass of champagne off his tray, before handing it to Oliver. She held her own, non-alcoholic, glass expectantly.

“Here’s to Tommy- and to a better future. One he can be proud of.”

Oliver nodded, his eyes sparkling reminiscently for his old friend. “To Tommy.”

* * *

“ _Felicity_. Come on baby- Fe-li-ci-ty. You can do it.”

“Fliss-y!” Sara gurgled.

Felicity pouted dejectedly. “One day Sare-Bear. One day it’s going to happen.”

Lyla laughed. “With you whispering in her ear, she’ll be saying things like biometric and algorithms before she’s potty trained.”

Thea smirked. “I like it- Fliss. It’s cute. Kind of like Ollie.”

Felicity glared. “No one over the age of two will be calling me Fliss _. Ever_. And Ollie is a _horrible_ name- no offence.”

Oliver snorted into his glass, causing Sara to burst into peals of laughter. “No offence taken.” He coughed, eyes crinkling as he tossed Sara a wry smile.

Digg smirked. “She has a point.”

Felicity grinned and then continued to press raspberry kisses along Sara’s face, before cooing. “Of course I do. Aunt Felicity’s always right- isn’t she Sare-Bear?” The baby giggled and Felicity rose, swinging Sara in her arms. “Let’s go dance, baby girl.”

She turned to the rest of the table and smiled. “If anyone needs us, we’ll be on the dance floor.”

Lyla and Diggle responded with identical smiles as they watched their daughter giggle and coo as Felicity swayed with her towards the dance floor.

“I should probably go check on Roy, make sure he’s not poking himself with arrows yet.” Thea announced- only half kidding. While the others watched her leave in amusement, Oliver was concerned. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by anyone that she’d been careful to avoid Laurel- spending most of her time with Roy.

 “I’m going to grab a drink, want anything?” Lyla asked, turning to her husband.

John shook his head and pressed a kiss against her lips. “Don’t be long, wife.”

Lyla beamed. “I won’t- _husband_.”

“Sounds nice, doesn’t it?” He murmured.

“Like home.” She agreed softly.

Oliver cleared his throat awkwardly and Lyla pulled away with a tinkering laugh. “Alright, alright, I’m going.”

Oliver smiled sheepishly and she squeezed his shoulder, before walking off to the bar. Ringing laughter and girlish giggles pulled his attention back towards Felicity and baby Sara, as they swept across the room.

“You know, it was bad enough that you tuned out during my wedding ceremony, now you’re practically mooning her with your eyes.”

Oliver’s head snapped towards Digg, but there was no resentment, only smug amusement and a hint of exasperation.

Rather than dignifying that with a response, Oliver settled with a glare, before proceeding to down the rest of his drink.

* * *

Laurel joined Felicity later in the night, where she sat alone at an empty table straddling the edge of the dance floor; with a bottle of champagne and a half empty glass.

“Hey.”

Felicity looked up from her glass and smiled, her eyes were only slightly glassy.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Not at all, I think I’m on glass number five, so I think you’d better.”

Laurel laughed. “You deserve it. Besides, sometimes you just need a glass of alcohol to get through a wedding.” She glanced pointedly. “Or a bottle.”

Felicity sighed deeply. “I’m happy for them. They deserve this.”

Laurel nodded. “They look like a couple madly in love.”

“Yeah.” She answered wistfully.

So sudden that neither of them saw it coming, something fell neatly into Felicity’s lap. She jumped, blinking perplexed at the intricate arrangement of flowers.

“Is that...” Laurel trailed off and they both looked up to see Lyla’s wide eyes and a group of giggling ladies watching them.

Felicity’s mouth fell comically open and she stuttered. Laurel couldn’t contain the burst of laughter, and when Felicity looked up towards Lyla again, she only shrugged in disbelief.

“Wow, so who’s the lucky guy?” Thea exclaimed, appearing behind them. “You guys going to set a date?”

 Laurel giggled again and Felicity blushed. “That was appropriately mortifying. Thank god I didn’t bring a date.” Thinking about that particular conversation was almost as embarrassing as unintentionally catching the bride’s bouquet in front of an entire wedding party. 

Thea fell into the next empty seat and smirked. “You know what they say, can’t escape fate.”

Felicity almost snorted. “This is not fate. _This_ \- yeah, not happening.” She said, waving towards the bouquet, almost afraid to touch it.

“It’s not going to burn you if you hold it, Felicity.” Thea drawled.

 

Across the room, Oliver watched their playful banter with lidded eyes, barely noticing when Lyla slid beside him. He’d seen Thea look nervously and despondently at Laurel before joining them, surprised that she’d done so, considering she’d spent the entire night avoiding her. Oliver hoped this meant further progress, or at least an acceptance that she was not the monster she believed herself to be.

“It’s okay to let a little loose, you know. It’s a wedding.”

Lyla stared pointedly at his clenched fists and he immediately allowed his hands to relax, turning his head with an apologetic smile. “I guess I’m just a little out of practice.”

Lyla gave a knowing grin. “Maybe it’s time to get back into practice. She’s not going to be available forever, Oliver.”

He gave a visible start and then huffed with exasperation. “Digg- should have known.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“He didn’t have to say anything. I see the way you look at her.” Lyla leaned forward.

“You know, when I was in Afghanistan; I used to think love was weak. It was already hard enough being a woman in the military, but a woman who fell in love and let her emotions dictate her? Well I may as well have packed up and left to be a housewife. But then I met John, and I realized love didn’t make me weak, or less of a soldier- it gave me hope and purpose. I had something to fight for, and something to believe would last, long after the raids and the gunfire.” She placed her hand over his and smiled.

“We all need a little light in our lives. Especially doing what we do. It’s easy to get lost in our heads. We need someone to pull us out every once in a while and tell us how stupid we’re being.” She gave his hand a final pat. “Just some advice, from one soldier to another.”

* * *

Felicity was mid conversation with Thea, when Oliver’s hand appeared in front of her. They both looked up in surprise.

“Dance with me?” He asked softly, ignoring Thea’s outright incredulity.

Felicity watched him with wide eyes. Eventually her forehead wrinkled. “You don’t dance.” She breathed stupidly.

 He shrugged. “I’m making an exception.” When she made no move to accept, he raised his brow in amusement. “Are you going to leave me hanging?”

She blinked twice, and then tentatively slid her hand in his. He pulled her up gently, walking them back a few steps, and then- to her complete surprise- twirled her, before drawing her against him.

He gave a genuine smile at her expression. “I never said I didn’t know _how_ to dance.”

She gave a breath of laughter and shook her head in disbelief. “Of course.”

They swayed slowly, his hand resting at the small of her back. The feeling of skin against skin made both of them shiver. He drew her closer, until their faces were only inches apart, and watched a number of emotions flit across her face as their fingers intertwined together. Felicity slid her other hand over his chest and around his neck.

“You look beautiful, Felicity.” He breathed.

She smiled hesitantly. “Thank you.” She gave a nervous chuckle. “A dance _and_ a compliment- _must_ be a special occasion.”

Oliver’s eyes darkened. “You’re the exception. You’re always the exception, Felicity.”

She looked away pensively. “Not always.”

He frowned. “ _Felicity_ -

“I can’t- I don’t want to get into this again. Not now. Please.” She pleaded softly, cutting him off before he could reiterate his, ‘we can’t be together because it’s dangerous’ spiel.

He sighed, and then nodded. “Can we call a truce?”

Felicity cocked her head to the side and then raised an incredulous brow. “I thought that’s what the dance was for.”

Oliver’s gaze softened. “The dance was because I wanted to dance with my beautiful partner; besides, I’m not just talking about tonight.”

Felicity swallowed down the flutter in her chest and smiled blandly. “Oliver, you can’t call a truce when there’s nothing to argue in the first place.”

“Really? Because that’s all it ever feels like we do anymore.”

Felicity unwound her arm from his neck, settling it against his chest; thought did not make any move to pull away. “You made a decision Oliver, and it’s just something that I have to live with. I _argue_ with you because I want to push you to be the best person you can be. You make fairly ridiculous choices sometimes- _most of the time_ -

Oliver’s lip twitched. 

“-and as your friend and partner, it’s my job to pull your head out of your ass on occasion.” Her fingers curled against his chest. “So no, no truce necessary Oliver.”

He held her gaze and nodded wordlessly, the ghost of a sad smile floating along his lips. He felt her begin to pull away, and tightened his hand around her waist.

“Song’s over Oliver.” She whispered.

She was close, face angled up towards him and eyes dark with uncertainty, sadness and something else- something he refused to acknowledge, because he knew that if he did, he would never let go.

Instead, he stepped back and raised her hand, where he pressed a lingering kiss. “You really do look stunning.” He breathed, before turning on his heel.

* * *

“I really don’t know who the bigger idiot here is, me- for not noticing, or you for being the world’s largest moron!”

Oliver sighed and raised his head. He’d been enjoying the peace of the foundry. After his dance with Felicity, he’d found Digg and Lyla- congratulating them on their marriage and making John promise he wouldn’t see him in the Foundry for the next week- before making a hasty exit on his bike.

That was until his sister had shown up- a hurricane of expletives and disbelief. “What are you talking about, Thea?”

She scoffed. “You like Felicity- as in really like her!”

He groaned and buried his head in his hands again. “Can we not do this right now?”

“We are _going_ to do this now, Oliver Queen! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Tell you _what_ Thea?! There is nothing to tell!”

“Like hell there’s nothing to tell! The way you were looking at her, the dancing, the way the two of you were talking-

Oliver looked up when she trailed off abruptly, only to find her looking back incredulously.

“You love her, don’t you.” It wasn't a question. Not really.

He didn’t have to say anything. As usual, his eyes told her everything she needed to know.

She sighed and kneeled in front him, taking his hands into her own. “Oh Ollie, why are you doing this to yourself? You deserve happiness.”

His breath hissed through his teeth with something that sounded like wry laughter. “I really don’t.” He muttered.

“Well then doesn’t she?” Thea insisted, her eyes imploring some kind of understanding. He frowned.

“I saw the way she was looking at you, she loves you too, Ollie.”

He pulled his hands away and stood abruptly. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He murmured.

Thea stood. “Oliver-

“ _Thea_!”

She gazed back defiantly and he shrank away. “This isn’t your concern. Just leave it alone.”

She remained silent for a few moments, before shaking her head. “Do you remember what I told you- when you first came back? I told you that you needed to let someone in. And it looks like you did. Don’t turn back now because you’re scared.” When it was apparent that he wouldn’t respond, she shook her head resignedly before turning away, leaving behind the light scent of her designer perfume and a dull ache in Oliver’s chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Momentary reprieve for Team Arrow. As fluffy as it gets 'round here *shrugs*.


	16. Lie to Me Just a Little Longer

“ _When were you planning to tell me that Ray Palmer is the one flying around in the metal suit_?!!”

Roy, Laurel and Felicity looked up from the computer screen, surprised to find Oliver stalking towards them. Anger radiated off him in waves.

“Wait _what_?” Roy asked. His eyes blew open.

Oliver ignored him, continuing to glare at Felicity, hands clenched at his sides. “You knew- I’m assuming?!”

She bit her lip, meeting his eyes in silent acquiescence.

“Give us a minute.” He snapped at the others. It wasn’t a question.

The intensity of his gaze never wavered from hers.

Laurel and Roy exchanged a quick look. The latter didn’t know whether to wince or blush at the heat exchanged between the pair. The sexual tension was thick enough to cut through.

Needless to say, they didn’t need to be told twice. 

“Well?!”

Felicity sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Oliver ran his hands over his face in frustration and he looked pleadingly towards the ceiling as if to gather the strength to speak without exploding. When he spoke again, his words were strained- choked with the effort to control his anger. “Look, I know things between us have been tense lately and I understand that you’re angry with me-

Felicity made a derisive noise.

“-you have every right to be.” He pressed, before she could say anything. “But why would you keep something like this- from _me_?!”

Felicity blew out a breath. “ _It’s not like that_! Look, it wasn’t my secret to tell, alright? I never actively meant to deceive you.” Her eyes flashed. “I wouldn’t do that.” 

Oliver muttered expletives under his breath and pressed two fingers along the bridge of his nose.

“Aside from getting Barry to save your life, I have never told anyone about you. I owed him the same respect.”

He paced, scowling while processing his thoughts. “You helped him? Build the suit?”

Felicity paused for a beat. “Yes.”

“And I’m assuming Central City wasn’t just a spontaneous Palmer Tech road trip?” He was hurt that she would choose to confide in _Barry_ \- over him.  

Felicity closed her eyes before looking at him like she knew what he was thinking. She did. Of course she did. “No. The suit was malfunctioning; I thought he could get Dr. Wells to help him figure out how to get it mobile. Don’t be angry with Barry. He wasn’t happy with me doing this either and I made him promise not to tell anyone.”

Oliver swallowed the bitter swell in his throat. The implication was clear; anyone meaning him.

Oliver let out a long, unsteady breath and leaned forward against the work table. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? How potentially wrong it could go?”

“No more so than what I do with you- with everyone- down here.” She answered quickly.

He snapped his head in her direction and slammed a heavy fist down on the table. “ _Dammit_ , that is not the same thing, Felicity! I know what I’m doing! I came into this with training and _years_ of experience! I didn’t just wake up and decide to be a- a _superhero_!”

“What’s wrong with that? What’s wrong with wanting to be something more?” She countered.

Oliver wanted to pull out his hair, put a fist through something- anything to release the overwhelming anger and frustration coursing through his veins.

Instead he sighed heavily, shoulders slumping forward. He’d come back to the foundry with every intention of yelling at her- shaking her- until she saw reason. He’d been livid. A part of him acknowledged his jealousy, but it was more than just that. Oliver didn’t understand how someone so intelligent could be so stupid. How could she not realize how much of a danger this was to her life- _a life so precious to him_? But here she was, proving yet again to be the embodiment of selfless and loyal. How could he begrudge the very things he loved most about her?

 _And for the love of God_ , _how was he expected to focus on anything when all he really wanted to do was throw her against the wall and have his way with her?_

No sooner did the thought cross his mind than he pushed it away; storing it in the dark far corners of his mind and sealing it shut. _That_ was not something he was going to entertain.

“You. Putting your life in danger- is what’s wrong with it.” He finally rasped, defeated.

**_Eight Hours Earlier_ **

Felicity was reading through plans for the reconstruction of the destroyed applied sciences facility when a phone was pressed underneath her nose. She raised an eyebrow and looked up.

“Are you offering me a new phone?”

Ray frowned. “Read the article.”

Her expression sobered at the gravity of his tone. She took the phone, her eyes scanning the page on the screen. She’d seen the story on the news; women being abducted and raped in the Glades. Similar ammo in every case suggested the same person.   

“Yeah, I heard about it. It’s disgusting. I hope they find him soon.”

Ray’s frown deepened. “That’s the thing. It’s been almost two weeks since the first victim and they still haven’t found him. Why aren’t the Arrow and his team working on this?!”

Felicity tried to control her expression. “What makes you think they’re not?”

He scoffed. “Come on Felicity, if they were looking for this scum bag, they would have found him by now.”

Felicity’s face twisted. “Well I don’t know, maybe they’re busy with other things.” It wasn’t a lie. Oliver had directed Felicity’s focus entirely on the League. John was still on his honeymoon and Roy and Oliver both were preoccupied with Thea. She wished they had more time and energy to spare, but the truth of the matter was Starling was a large city and crime would always exist. It wasn’t practical for them to hunt every single criminal on the street.

Felicity squirmed when Ray turned his head to look at her, eyes narrowing. It seemed almost pointed, but before she could give it much thought, the moment passed and he pulled his gaze away. “Like what? What’s more important than protecting innocent people?”

 Felicity made a show of exasperation. “Last time I checked, the Arrow wasn’t sharing his plans with the public. Ray, what’s going on?”

He shook his head dejectedly. “Nothing, just...forget it.”

She watched him leave the office with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. 

***

If Felicity thought her pile of issues were substantial before, Laurel sweeping into the Foundry with a list and unwavering determination, was going to be a problem.

“So I’ve consolidated all the possible suspects of Sara’s murder based on known criminals active in and around that time frame.”

Across the room, training on the mats, Roy’s aim wavered and instead of hitting the punching bag, his fist met air. She met his gaze quickly, before turning back to Laurel.

Coincidentally, Oliver had gone on patrol for the first night since discovering the nano chip in Thomas Randall’s brain- insisting on doing so by himself. She knew it was dangerous for him to go alone, especially in his mental state and although she’d argued against it, Felicity could tell he needed the distraction. She saw how tired his eyes were, caught the tightness in his shoulders and witnessed the vulnerability in his expression when he thought no one was looking.

For this reason, Felicity hadn’t pressed the issue very hard. At this very moment, however, she wished she had. “Laurel...Sara died... with arrows in her chest.” She said carefully... tentatively. “It’s not going to be any odd street thug.”

Laurel made a noise of indignation. “ _I know that_! But I can’t do _nothing_ anymore. At least this way we’re covering some bases. This way I’m doing _something_.” She sounded desperate and Felicity could see hints of her, slowly unraveling.

She rubbed her temples and not for the first time- cursed Malcolm Merlyn’s existence. “How did you even get this list?” 

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “You don’t get to be a detective’s daughter without learning a few tricks of the trade along the way. We may not all be computer geniuses, but I know a little something about investigative work.”

Felicity muttered under her breath. “Right.”

Before she could regret it- or consider the consequences, Felicity nodded towards the file. “Give it here then, let’s see what we can find.”

***

Oliver was distracted. That was the only explanation for why he’d been caught off guard.

He knew going into the field when his head was all over the place was dangerous, let alone into the field by himself- but he needed a distraction, needed to focus on something that wasn’t League related or Argus conspiracy theories for _five minutes_. Besides, they still had an obligation to Starling City.

Also it felt really good to hit something that wasn’t a punching bag.

He’d already intercepted a burglary, a street corner drug trade, and he was ready to step in between a bulky man and the struggling woman in his grasp, when a blue and red metal suit landed in front of him and threw a rather impressive punch in the assailant’s face.

Oliver halted to a stop and hesitated for a few seconds in surprise, before immediately knocking an arrow defensively.

“Leave. Now.” He ordered briskly towards the woman. Her shoulders shook with a mixture of fear and shock, but she didn’t hesitate to do as told.

Leaving behind a choked ‘thank you’, she ran off, heels clacking noisily along the alleyway. Oliver watched her go until she cleared the street, before turning abruptly, only to stop short.  

Although the rest of his body was covered entirely in some type of metal, he’d discarded the helmet, leaving Oliver to stare back at Ray Palmer’s exposed face.    

***

“Palmer?!” Oliver’s face twisted in confusion and shock. He lowered his bow, _only slightly hesitantly_.

Ray simply gazed back coolly, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Arrow- or should I say... Oliver Queen.”

He froze.

“Don’t bother denying it. My suit is equipped with facial recognition. Although I’ve known it was you for a while.”

Oliver’s jaw clenched and slowly, he lowered his hood.

“How!?” He snapped.

Ray snorted. “You really need to stop underestimating my intelligence. It already cost you your company.”

Oliver’s face twisted angrily.

“I’m assuming Felicity’s on the other end of that.” He nodded towards where Oliver’s comm unit was located, although Oliver had turned it off some time ago. His eyes flared.

“Once I figured you out, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together. You needed an inside with someone intelligent and good with technology. Felicity’s promotion to EA when she was obviously over-qualified for the job was a dead giveaway. Plus- she’s not as good a liar as she believes.” He shrugged again.

“So what, you used her- hired her to get the information you needed?” He snarled.

Ray scowled; appalled that he would even suggest such a thing. “Of course not. I didn’t know about you when I hired her- or when I bought your company. I wanted Felicity because I’d heard she was the best Queen Consolidated had to offer. I also learned both Wayne Industries and Kord Enterprises were actively attempting to recruit her. Someone with that kind of attention obviously couldn’t be afforded to lose. This suit is evidence of that.”

Oliver went still, his mind blanking. “Excuse me?”  

Ray seemed to understand he’d made a mistake. He shifted uncomfortably. “She helped me create the suit. She’s smarter than you give her credit-

“Do not presume to know my relationship with Felicity.” His voice was deceptively low. “How _dare_ you incorporate her in your suicidal plan. _How dare you risk her life_.”

Ray frowned.  “I haven’t put her in any danger and I would never risk her life- though I can’t say the same for you-

Oliver’s fist connected with Ray’s face before either of them could blink. He struggled to rein control as Ray stumbled back at the force of his punch.

“Final warning Palmer, keep her out of your suicide mission and stay off my streets.”

Ray glared, clutching his face. “If you’re not protecting it, someone has to. In case you haven’t noticed, crime is rising and the Arrow hasn’t been doing much about it.” He nodded his head towards the unconscious man. “Do you know how many women this man has raped? In _your_ streets.” He pressed.

Oliver’s fist itched. “You know nothing. _You have no idea, Palmer_.” His eyes burned with the heat of his anger as he turned away and disappeared into the shadows.

 

**_Present Time_ **

They sat in silence. Oliver with his head bowed, buried in his hands and Felicity swiveling side to side absentmindedly, chewing on her pen.

“I tried to talk him out of it... in the beginning.” She murmured, breaking the silence. “Didn’t really work- seems that I attract all of the stubborn ones.” She scoffed.

Oliver raised his head and rested his chin against his knuckles. He looked weary and Felicity felt a pang of guilt for being the reason behind it.

“I told him it was a suicide mission. That I wouldn’t help him create what was essentially a death suit.” She continued, pursing her lips together. “But he wouldn’t quit and I figured he was more likely not to get himself killed if I helped him. To be honest, I was hoping it wouldn’t work. But it seems I’m some sort of vigilante whisperer.”

She glanced at him. “Which is totally not, something I’m proud of not to mention _anything_ I can add to my resume, BTW.”

His lips quirked. “I don’t doubt that. I just wish you would have told me.”

“So what- you could have _punched_ some sense into him?”

Oliver straightened. “Yes. Not only is he putting himself into danger, he’s also exposing you to it; whether it’s from the suit itself, or from outside enemies who will try to get to him through you.” The mere thought of this made his blood boil.

Felicity scowled. “That’s not fair. You can’t dump all of your insecurities on him.”

Oliver felt his frustration bubble again. “They’re not insecurities, it’s the truth and you’re right, it’s not fair. But it’s the way things are. When you choose this life, you are your own worst enemy and the biggest threat to the people around you is yourself.”

Felicity scoffed. He wanted to hash this out again? _Fine_. So be it.

“I refuse to believe that. Regardless if I’m his VP or his power suit co-creator, I’m still going to be doing things other people won’t like or agree with. In any case, I made the decision to work with him and I made the decision to help him. So really, if you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me.”

Oliver considered this, remembering Diggle’s advice about having something to come back to. The balance between being Oliver Queen and being the Arrow seemed so precarious. Oliver Queen had so much to lose, leaving the Arrow vulnerable. He hadn’t survived five years in his own purgatory by embracing vulnerability and he certainly could not protect the city and the people he loved by doing so; even if every nerve in his body screamed for it.

He remembered the way he felt when he’d seen Sara- lifeless and lying on a cold medical table. _Their Sara_. And then he thought about how he’d have felt, had it been Thea’s body... _or Felicity’s_. He smothered this thought immediately. If it came down to loving them or protecting them, Oliver would choose the latter.  

_But what if it didn’t?_

 He entertained this idea for about five seconds before reality came crashing down and he remembered that the League of Assassins was still hunting them. He would die a thousand deaths- strip himself completely of Oliver Queen- if it meant the safety of his friends from the hands of Ra’s Al Ghul.

She leaned back in her chair, oblivious to the tortured conflict waging war on his mind. “So what now- I mean, I guess the Atom knows the Arrow and the Arrow knows the Atom, so what happens now?”

“Now he stays off my streets. We don’t need an amateur getting involved, especially not one in a giant metal suit.” He answered.

Felicity glared. “Oliver, the Atom can be a lot of help. You said it yourself, we have way too much on our plate as it is; this city still needs saving.”

 “And it will _\- by us_.” He stated firmly, leaving no room for argument.

“We’re done here.” Oliver scowled, before standing abruptly and stalking off.

***

“So how long have you known.”

Felicity hovered in the doorway, watching as Ray looked up with a start.

He searched her face before shrugging. “A couple of weeks... I started to put things together after Star Labs. I’m assuming they’re responsible for the Flash in Central City?”

She pursed her lips together and then noticed the purpling bruise over his eye. Her shoulders fell. “What were you thinking?” Felicity sighed.

He made an expression of what looked to be his attempt at a light smile, but it came out a grimace. “Well last night I was thinking I wanted to talk to the Arrow, maybe introduce myself as the Atom and get him to realize that I’m not the enemy. But now I’m thinking I’m an idiot.”

“He told me what you said... including the stuff about putting my life in danger.”

Ray winced. “Yeah, not my best moment; I may have deserved that punch.”

“Irritating the lethal vigilante probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but neither was confronting him like that, or saying the things you said.” She sank into the chair beside him.

“He’s done a lot for this city Ray, more than you or anyone else will ever know. He’s still doing a lot. He risks his life every night so that innocent people can feel safe.”

The softness in her voice only furthered Ray’s guilt.

“I know. I feel bad about the way I handled it last night. I was hopped up on adrenaline and I was angry. But still, it’s no excuse.”

“It’s not.” She agreed. “But you had good intentions, you still do. He’ll come to realize that. He’s a good man, Ray, regardless of everything.”

He looked up. “He’s lucky to have you, you know.”

Felicity looked away. “Yeah...lucky. Anyway, you should probably keep a low profile for the time being.”

Ray nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She stood, and before she could leave, Felicity looked back at Ray uncertainly. “Is this okay? Are we good?” She gestured between them.

He smiled, his trademark smirk and levity reappearing. “We’re good.”

***

The air was crisp and the sky dark when a lone ship made port at the Starling Marina docks. While the crew prepared to disembark, a lithe form cloaked entirely in black robes, landed gracefully on land, before disappearing into the shadows.

The captain simply watched her leave with lidded eyes, from his perch on the top deck, as he counted the money in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O/F argument semi based on Stephen's comment about Oliver Queen being turned on when Felicity fights with him- or something along those lines ;)


	17. Heir to the Demon

Laurel saw his fist, knew the punch was coming, yet still grunted when Ted’s glove made contact with the side of her face.

He pulled back and frowned. She could see the frustration clearly visible on his face. “That was easy Laurel. You should have blocked it- no problem. Get your head out of the clouds.”

Laurel scowled and pressed down her own irritation. Ted Grant was a stern and tough trainer. Most of the time she understood that it was for her benefit and the only way she would be ready to finally hit the streets.

Most of the time.

Today it was only adding to her aggravation. She had to remind herself that it was not actually Ted she was angry at.

He shook his head and pulled off his gloves. “Let’s take a break.”

“I don’t need a break.” Laurel argued, earning her a glare.

 “We’ve been here for two hours and so far I’ve seen nothing but distraction; if your head’s not in it today, don’t waste my time Laurel.”

She glared back. “That’s not fair.”

“Yeah, well guess what? The thug around the corner- he won’t be playing fair either. Get your shit together.”

Laurel met his angry gaze with equal fervour, before her shoulders fell forward in a sign of defeat. She flung her gloves off, before hopping down to the floor. Ted followed quickly.

“Hey!” He grabbed her arm and forced her eyes to his, eyes that softened with concern. “What’s going on? You’ve been distant and distracted for the past few days.” He murmured. “Talk to me.” He rested his hand lightly on her arm.

“I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated, and...” She trailed off, staring over his shoulder uncertainly.

Ted’s hand trailed down her hips as he pulled her closer, before leaning forward to press their lips together. Laurel closed her eyes; responding with a light nip and then tilting her head back to stare at him. “What happened to keeping work and pleasure separate?” She asked softly, her voice tinged with amusement.

He looked at her pointedly. “Laurel.”

She sighed and then pulled back, her eyes shuttering as she collected her expression. “Maybe you’re right. Let’s just call it a day. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She grabbed her bag and turned on her heel, ignoring his objections.  

Laurel liked him. She liked him a lot. They’d grown close over their time together. Ted was not only a great teacher; she also genuinely enjoyed his company. He treated her well, he was attentive and the sex was great, but every time she found herself considering happiness, guilt pulled her back. And there was _so much guilt_ ; guilt for Sara- guilt for Tommy.

Being with Ted was supposed to be easy and light, but Laurel had come to realize that he was potentially someone she could easily fall for. Laurel didn’t want that, _couldn’t_ do that. Not now anyway. Sara’s death was still unresolved and given all the crap she’d been through in the last three years alone, she had enough baggage to fill a cargo ship.  

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Laurel wondered if her relationships with Oliver and Tommy hadn’t damaged her in some way. She couldn’t remember the last time she had a normal relationship- couldn’t even remember what a normal relationship felt like anymore. Before she could entertain the morbid thought, she was overcome with a sense of uneasiness.

Ted’s numerous warnings about following her instincts and being aware of her surroundings were burned in her brain. So when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, Laurel stiffened.

Abruptly, she turned around and threw a swift hook through the air. A hooded figure ducked, and then leapt back back lithely.

Before Laurel could continue her assault, the stranger lowered their hood and smirked. “Hello, Laurel.”

***

She froze. “Nyssa?”

She squinted in disbelief at the dark haired woman. She was clad completely in the familiar black League regalia, imposing, lethal and statuesque, even to Laurel who towered over many, herself.

Nyssa Al Ghul was the last person Laurel had expected to find.

Nyssa’s dark eyes studied her, before she smiled again with mirthless amusement. “It seems you’ve been busy.” Her voice was low and smooth, cutting through the air like daggers.

“Your technique isn’t completely horrible; although you have much to learn yet, if your desire was to actually hit me.”

Laurel ignored her jab. “What are you doing here, Nyssa?” She spat, eyes narrowing with spite. “Haven’t you done enough damage? Isn’t it enough the League already took my sister? Why can’t you leave us alone?”

Nyssa’s face hardened and even in the dark, Laurel could see her muscles coil with anger. “I will not rest until Ta-er al-Sahfer has been brought to justice. I do not know how Oliver Queen escaped death at my father’s blade, but rest assured he will pay for his crimes.”

“His only _crime_ was having ever trusted you.” Laurel countered sharply.

Nyssa’s face twisted in revulsion. “How do you stand there and defend Sara’s murderer.”

Laurel almost snorted. “You’re not seriously implying that Oliver killed Sara. That’s delusional, even for you.” She scoffed again for good measure.

Nyssa blinked slowly, coming to the realization that Laurel’s reaction was not a charade. “You don’t know.” She breathed. “What lies has Oliver Queen been feeding you?”

“The only lies are the ones coming from your mouth.” Laurel snapped, immediately taking a defensive stance when Nyssa stepped forward.

“Why do you think he requested a duel with my father? Oliver himself confessed to killing my beloved and thus was sentenced to death. Although it seems as ever, death evades Oliver Queen.”

Laurel shook her head vehemently. “No. I don’t believe you- you’re crazy. Oliver would never- that’s just- no!”

The assassin paused for a beat, gazing at her through lidded eyes. “I would be hard pressed to argue with you...if I believed it myself.”

Laurel stared at her without understanding, her vision blurry through unshed tears of disbelief.

“Oliver Queen may have confessed to killing Ta-er al-Sahfer, but I do not believe it for a moment to be true. He is many things, but a man who kills a woman he once claimed to love, is not one of them.”

Laurel whipped her head from side to side. “I don’t understand.”

 “I believe he is protecting someone else. I intend to find out who it is and then I will ensure they die a long and painful death.”  

“Protecting someone? Why would he protect Sara’s killer!” She cried, sounding very close to hysterical. Nothing was making sense to her.

 “My father knows he is still alive. He will die, but not by my hands.” And then, in a surprising move, Nyssa’s eyes softened. “If you value your life, Laurel Lance, you will stay far away from this. Oliver’s life is forfeit. Do not interfere. I made Sara a promise once- to protect her family. I do not wish to break it.”

Laurel crumpled to the ground. She had no energy left inside to respond, no energy left to fight and when she finally raised her head, tears tracking along her face, Nyssa had already disappeared.

***

Oliver glared at the black sedan with dark tinted windows, as it came to a smooth stop in front of him. It was late, they were in an empty lot somewhere outside the Glades and it was now ten minutes after their arranged meet time. Felicity had suggested taking Roy, or waiting until Dig returned, but they had no time to wait. Besides, this was something Oliver needed to do alone.

“Amanda.” Oliver greeted curtly, when her stiletto clad heels hit the ground. She nodded towards the driver and he closed the door behind her, before stepping back inside the car.

“Mister Queen.” She replied smoothly.

“A little dramatic, meeting in an empty parking lot; I could have just come to you.” Oliver said gruffly.

It didn’t go by unnoticed to Oliver, the way her eyes tightened. She shrugged. “What can I say; I have a flare for the theatrics.”

“No you don’t. Cut the crap Amanda. You forget that I know you and your games. I want the truth, no riddles, no runaround- just the truth.”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t handle the truth.”

“I’ve handled a lot worse, in case you’ve forgotten.”

She scoffed, before taking a few steps to the side. “This goes above you, Oliver. It is beyond what you could understand- what you could conjure in your wildest dreams.”

“Then start with Randall. Who the hell was he?”

“A pawn.” She answered simply.

 “For what?!” Oliver demanded, feeling his already thin patience wane.

“A game of chess that some people have been playing for a long time; long before you became what you are now, long even before you boarded the Queen’s Gambit.”

Oliver’s forehead knitted tightly. “Did you know about the nano chip? Was it Argus?”

Amanda pursed her lips. “I’ve already divulged more information to you than I have my own agents. What makes you believe I will tell you anything else? Do not misinterpret my willingness to humor this little meet as anything more than a common courtesy for helping Argus resolve the Deathstroke situation last year. ”

Oliver gave a hollow laugh. “I didn’t _help_ _you_ ; I did what I needed to do to save my city, which is what I’m trying to do now. Mark my words, I will find the information I need, you know that I will. I can go through you and Argus to get it- or you can just tell me what I need to know to keep Starling safe.”

Her lips twisted up. “You would have made an excellent agent. You know, to this day, you still remain my greatest achievement.” Her smile was cold and taunting; loaded with years’ worth of torment she had put him through, in order to mould him into a weapon to further her own agendas.

Oliver clenched his jaw and felt his nails bury deep into his palms, almost to the point that they drew blood. There were no words to describe the depth of his hatred for her and her involvement in the monster he’d become and still at times, a killer he considered himself to be.

“Yes.” She said finally, breaking his train of dark and self loathing thoughts. His head snapped up.

“Argus created the original blueprint for the nano-chip. However, it never made it past the prototype stage. You can probably guess why. There were too many flaws- too many risks. We ran many tests; however, Randall was never one of them. He was not an Argus Op. We had no idea of the chip implanted in his brain.”

“But you know who it was.”

Amanda raised her hand, and the door to the driver’s seat swung open. The stoic man stepped down and pulled her door open so that she could slide inside. Just before he could close the door, Amanda’s hand flew out. “I am not a woman of religion myself, Mister Queen, but if I were you, I would pray. Pray that you never meet Damien Darhk.”

***

 Both Felicity and Roy were waiting for him when he finally descended the steps into the foundry.

“Well?” She asked expectantly, wasting no time.

He set aside his bow and blew a heavy breath. “I got a bit. To be honest, it was more than I thought I’d get.”

“Want to share?” Roy said dryly.

 “The nano-chip was an Argus product, but Randall wasn’t theirs.”

“Uh- that’s _if_ we’re taking her word here.” Felicity raised a pointed finger. “And that’s a really big ‘if’- like Dig’s biceps, big.”

“They created it in theory, but it never made it past the prototype.”

Roy snorted. “You don’t say.”

Oliver shot him a look, before plowing through. “Damien Darhk’s name came up again.”

Felicity’s eyes narrowed and they shared a similar look. “What are you thinking?”

“Darhk infiltrated Argus. I’m assuming he stole the blueprints and opened up the clinic as a front for his experiments. Randall goes into surgery, unknowingly for the implant, it works temporarily, explaining the gaping holes after his surgery. But then something goes wrong and Darhk burns the shop down, effectively destroying any evidence.”

Felicity had a chilling thought. “Or something goes right. No, think about it, the clinic stayed open for three years after Randall. What if there are more creepy mind drones out there just waiting to be activated.”

"Okay, now you sound like a sci- fi movie." Roy scoffed.

She glared in return. "Paranoia is real, okay? Google it!" Felicity groaned, rubbing her hands across her face. “Great, so some wack job is out there with the plans to create a mind controlling chip. _Add that to the list_ ; but why now. Waller said Darhk infiltrated Argus twenty six years ago. What’s he been doing all this time and why wait so long?”

Oliver didn’t know the answer to that. There were a lot of things he didn't understand, when it came to Thomas Randall and Damien Darhk. Amanda’s parting remarks still ran heavily through his thoughts. Whoever Darhk was, he was no ordinary, run of the mill ‘whack job’. Amanda had opted to meet in the open, outside Argus walls because she’d been afraid of prying eyes and listening ears.  

Damien Darhk spooked Amanda, there was no denying that, and what spooked Amanda Waller, bode nothing well for anyone else.

Oliver had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling indeed.

***  

Felicity walked into her office the next morning, feeling like one of the zombies from the Walking Dead- only without the overwhelming urge to feast on human flesh (her urges lay more within the realm of caffeine). 

She’d stayed at Verdant late and even after getting home- tucked underneath her sheets- sleep evaded her. Oliver’s reservation and quiet nervousness about this Damien Darhk character left her more than a little unsettled. Add to that their continued issues with the League, and Felicity was surprised there was room in her brain for anything else.

She’d tossed and turned, her mind flitting through every terrible possibility, including vivid images of Oliver being stabbed repeatedly through his chest.

Pushing her chair forward, Felicity inhaled deeply and forced her mind to turn instead towards more tedious topics, like flow charts and budget approvals.

She cracked her neck and uncapped her red pen.

***

“I reviewed your final draft for the Applied Sciences project, excellent work. Looks like you’ve dotted all your i’s and crossed all your t’s. Then again, can’t say I’m surprised.”

If there was any residual tension, Ray gave no indication. He fell easily in front of Felicity’s desk. Her eyes did a quick survey of his face, specifically the bruise over his eye.

“It’s fine.” He answered knowingly.

She cleared her throat. “Thanks. I’m putting a lot of time and effort into this project. I hope it pays off.”

He raised his brow and leaned forwards. “So- uh, I didn’t ask before...because of obvious reasons, but do I want to know why you really feel so personally about this project?”

Felicity blushed, thinking about the bomb she’d helped place in the lab to execute the plan she had conceptualized. The explosion was a well known public fact. “Probably not.”

He nodded slowly. “Right. You, Felicity Smoak, are slightly terrifying.” He said in a matter of fact tone of voice.

Felicity said nothing.

“So...how’s your- er, second job going?”

Felicity snorted. “You make me sound like a hooker.” The words had no sooner left her lips, than she realized her majorly humiliating verbal gaffe. Yet another one to add to her- sadly extensive- arsenal, she thought wryly. Her face burned.  

Ray gave an awkward laugh and scratched his forehead.

_Riddle me this; what do you get when you put two socially awkward people together in a room?_   Felicity sighed and plowed through. “It’s just been really stressful lately.”

He frowned. His cheeks were still tinged with red. “Is everything alright? Anything I can help with?”

_Not where the stubborn, hard-headed, brutish vigilante’s involved._ She thought inwardly.

Instead she replied with a grateful, “I’ll let you know.”

Ray’s eyes pinned her with a serious expression. “I mean it, Felicity. If your team needs anything, or if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. I want to help- in any way I can.”

Felicity smiled. “I know.”

***

Felicity Smoak was the best at what she did. It wasn’t arrogance, or a matter of opinion; it was a fact.

Just like the sky was blue.

So when she crossed the parking lot to get through the side entrance into the club, only to be cornered by Nyssa Al Ghul (Daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul, _yadda yadda yadda_ ), it was to her absolute shock and horror, mainly because none of her active tracers had picked up a willowy- practically built like an Amazonian- assassin dressed in heavy, black robes, looking like she belonged in another era. _None_.

For quite possibly the first time in her life, Felicity Smoak was speechless.

“Hmm, I remember you being much more vocal, Felicity Smoak, M.I.T, class of oh, nine.”

 She stood frozen, dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. _Oliver._

“Nyssa.” She breathed, eyes widening.

The assassin stepped forward and instinctually, Felicity stumbled back, hitting brick wall.

“You are afraid.” Nyssa murmured.

Felicity’s breath tumbled from her lips with a long hiss. “Please.” She pleaded with a strangled whisper. “Don’t hurt him.”

Nyssa’s forehead creased. Her bewilderment would have been comical, had it been under different circumstances. Felicity’s heart hammered wildly against her chest. She’d failed him. It had been her responsibility to track the League before they arrived, and she’d failed.

“You are afraid, yet you fear not for yourself.” Nyssa said curiously. “You plead for Oliver Queen’s life. _Why_?” She shifted, her robes rustling with the motion and cocked her head to the side.

“You love him.”

Felicity gave a visible start.

“ _Hariq_ \- - I see fire within your eyes, the same fire that burns within myself, for my beloved, Ta-er al-Sahfer.”

“Then you understand. You _know_ the pain of losing them.” Felicity said desperately. “You know how it feels.” She swallowed the swell in her throat and hesitated, before, “ _He didn’t do it_. Please, ask your father to pardon him.”

Nyssa pinned her with a piercing gaze and Felicity had never felt so completely exposed.

“There is no pardon for Oliver Queen.” She answered truthfully and Felicity almost sunk to the ground.

“However, Felicity Smoak, rest assured I am not here for him.”

Felicity’s breath hitched.

“When Oliver Queen faces justice, it will be by my father’s hand. I am not here on behalf of my father. I am here to discover the true identity of Sara’s killer.”

Felicity shook her head, perplexed. “I don’t understand.”

“I knew from the very moment Oliver confessed, that he was lying. He loved her at once too.”

“Then why-

“Oliver Queen came before my father and accepted punishment on behalf of the guilty; it was penance enough for my father. But I shall have my true revenge only once the ultimate justice has been attained.”

Felicity held her breath, asking tentatively, “You’re going against your father?”

Nyssa raised her head high. “I will have justice for my beloved.” She moved even closer and Felicity could almost feel her breath on her skin.

“Who killed my beloved, _Nuri_?” Her voice was velvet wrapped in silk, low and lethal.

Felicity thought about Thea, remembered the young girls broken spirit and empty eyes. And then she thought about Oliver. Oliver who would go through hell and back to protect all that he had left of his family. Her eyes flashed and she pushed forward, ignoring the sting of tears behind her eyes. “Would you betray Sara? Tell me Nyssa, if you were me, right now, and your enemy stood before you and demanded you betray the trust Sara had in you, would you do it?”

After a long beat that seemed more like hours rather than seconds, Nyssa’s muscled uncoiled and she stepped back. “He does not deserve you. And he will only hurt you; one way or another.” She said softly.  

As Felicity opened her mouth to reply, she caught Nyssa’s body tense again, before turning abruptly, narrowly missing Oliver’s fist.

She blocked another attack and then at- what seemed to Felicity- Barry-like speed, she whipped a hidden knife from -- _somewhere_ \-- and slashed through air, where Oliver had _just_ stood. He dodged the knife twice before dislodging it from her hand and holding it at her throat as he shoved her roughly against the door.

“Don’t. Move.” He growled. His voice was hard and his face was twisted with barely restrained anger.

Nyssa simply sneered back. “Your days are numbered, Oliver Queen. Mark my words.” Within seconds, she had a second knife in her hand and was slashing at his stomach. Oliver was forced to leap back. In a move surprising them both, Nyssa turned around and flung the knife- not at Oliver- but rather in the opposite direction, straight towards Felicity.

She heard Oliver’s piercing cry, before the knife lodged itself into the wall, only inches from her cheek. Felicity stood frozen in her spot, barely noticing Oliver’s voice. She blinked once—twice, and then found herself gazing directly into Oliver’s blue eyes.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” She said breathlessly. His hands were warm around her face and she felt his fingers bury themselves into her hair.

“You’re sure. She didn’t hurt you?” He demanded frantically, shaking her a little. She could feel the tension radiating off his body in waves.

Felicity shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I promise.”    

His shoulder slumped forward as he muttered something profane under his breath. Suddenly, as if just realizing their proximity, he pulled away and turned his head around. Felicity did the same, only to come to the same realization.

Nyssa was gone; and so was the calm.

The storm had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Pieces have fallen into place. Board is set. *whew* (Runs off to polish second half of story)
> 
> 'Hariq' (Arabic) - Fire
> 
> 'Nuri' (Arabic) – Female name meaning ‘fire’
> 
> I do not know Arabic, I used Google. I apologize if it’s incorrect. Let me know if it is and I will edit! :)


	18. Fissure

Roy tried not to flinch when Oliver’s fists made repeated, heavy, _angry_ contact with a punching bag, as if the object itself was Nyssa Al Ghul.

If he kept it up, there would be no bag left to punch, Roy thought wryly.   

They both turned immediately when the bathroom door opened and Felicity walked out, looking pensive but relatively fine. Still, it didn’t stop Oliver from getting that broody, concerned-but-only-at-a-distance look he frequently had when Felicity was involved.

“You okay?” Roy asked, beating Oliver to it. He rose from Felicity’s chair and indicated towards her.

She rolled her eyes, but her smile was fond. “I’m _fine._ ” She stressed, sending a pointed in Oliver's direction. “Honestly, I was a little shaken up, but she didn’t hurt me. Which is kind of surprising to be honest.”

“Felicity, a _knife_ was thrown at your head. I wouldn’t call that fine.” Oliver all but growled.

“Exactly, Nyssa threw a knife, from less than _three feet_ away. If she’d wanted to hurt me she easily could have.”

“Hurt you? She could have killed you!”

“But she didn’t.”

Roy’s head snapped back and forth, like he was watching a ping pong match. It looked like Felicity was the clear winner of this match when Oliver sighed resignedly, although not before giving her another once over.

“How the hell did Nyssa get here undetected anyway?”

Felicity’s face fell and she rolled her chair towards the monitors, her fingers immediately flying over the keyboard. “I honestly have no idea. I had everything- sats, facial recognition, surveillance cams, _hell_ _I even set google alerts_.” Her brows furrowed, fingers stilling.

“I’m sorry. I was supposed to make sure we were prepared for this.”

Oliver shook his head, his face slightly softening. “It’s not your fault. She must have found some other way to get here.” He massaged his temples. “Besides, Nyssa is acting on her own. It doesn’t seem like Ra’s sent her.”

Roy frowned. “Yeah but she knows you didn’t kill Sara, which means she’s going to turn the city over trying to find out who really did.”

Felicity gasped. “What if she goes to Laurel?! What if she tells her everything?”

Oliver swore under his breath. Of all things, Nyssa speaking to Laurel had never occurred to him. He grabbed his phone and dialed her number quickly. When it went to voicemail, he swore again. 

“Damn it, she’s not picking up.”

“You don’t think Nyssa already went to her, do you? I mean, how long has she been in the city? For all we know she could have arrived _days_ ago.”

Oliver shook his head as he sent a text message. “No, Laurel is a lot of things, but she isn’t stupid. She would have called me, or said something. She would never believe Nyssa without speaking to us first.”

Still, Felicity worried.

Both Roy and Oliver immediately reached for the nearest weapons when the safety lock on the foundry door clicked open.

Diggle sprinted down the stairs and promptly raised his arms. “Woah! It’s just me. What the hell’s going on?!”

Oliver let out a tense breath and slammed the glock on the table. “What are you doing here?”

Diggle looked at Felicity. “We flew in a few hours ago and then I got Felicity’s 911 text.”

“Nyssa’s in town... and she’s not happy.” Felicity summarized.

“Wait, what? She made contact?”

“You could say that.” Oliver’s lips twisted. “She cornered Felicity. Apparently wanted to know who killed Sara. She doesn’t believe it was me.”

Alarmed, John turned to Felicity, looking over her for signs of injury. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. But Nyssa is _angry_. She won’t stop until she gets her information.”

John groaned. “Can’t anything go as planned- just for once? What the hell good was you climbing some forsaken mountain, getting stabbed and almost dying, if we’re right back to where we started?”

Felicity frowned. “Well Nyssa isn’t exactly here on the League dime. It kind of sounded like she was going against Ra’s.”

“So he doesn’t know you’re still alive then?”

“Oh he knows. Nyssa…Nyssa warned me that he was going to come for Oliver.” Felicity's teeth tore nervously at her bottom lip when she remembered the certainty in Nyssa’s words.

“Let’s take this one step at a time. Ra’s isn’t here, which means he isn’t planning on killing me just yet.”

“Because that’s reassuring.” Felicity muttered.

“What matters now is keeping Nyssa away from Thea.”

“You mean away from everyone in Starling. I don’t think anyone who gets in her way is safe.” Roy quipped.

“And what about Laurel?”

“Let me deal with her.” Oliver answered, glancing down at his phone. There was still no response.

* * *

Oliver knocked on the door several times, contemplating whether he should break it down, before finally it swung open. Laurel stared expectantly. Her gaze faintly annoyed. “Oliver, what the hell? My neighbors are going to think I have a crazy stalker.”

“Where have you been? Why haven’t you called me back?” Oliver demanded, breezing inside.

“Oh yeah, that doesn’t sound stalker-ish at all.” Laurel drawled sarcastically.

“I’m serious Laurel. I called you twenty times.”

She crossed her arms. “I forgot my phone at the gym. What’s going on?”

“Nyssa’s in Starling.”

Her arms fell to her sides. “What? What do you mean she’s in Starling? How do you know?”

“Because she stopped by Verdant tonight. She hasn’t contacted you at all?”

Laurel shook her head. “No, of course not. Why would she? Is everyone okay?”

“Everyone is fine- for now. But I want you to be careful. She’s hell bent on finding Sara’s killer and she won’t care who gets in her way, even if it’s Sara’s own family.”

Laurel nodded. “I’ll be cautious.”

Oliver noticed her jaw clench. “What is it?”

“I just- if we could find out who did it, we could put an end to all this. I don’t understand how, with all our resources; we haven’t been able to find even a trace of Sara’s murderer.” Her steely eyes met his unwaveringly. “I want to bring my sister some justice and I’m sick of waiting.”

Oliver swallowed the swell in his throat and reminded himself why he was lying to her. Who he was protecting. “And we will, I promise.”

Laurel’s eyes flashed and she nodded slowly, before turning her head away. “Yeah.”

“Get some sleep and keep your phone on hand.” He tried to smile reassuringly, resting his hand on her shoulder before turning to leave.

Laurel closed the door behind him and then watched him turn the corner through the peephole. Only when he was gone from sight did she sag against the door and slip her phone from her pocket. She stared at the message on the screen, her own words blurring together through her tears.

_Money won’t be an issue. Get me everything you can on Oliver Queen._

 She slid to the ground slowly and sobbed.

* * *

It was one of those rare nice days, indicating spring was well under way. The sun was a reprieve from consecutive days of rain and the weather was warm, only occasionally interrupted by a light breeze, just strong enough to make it comfortable to sit outside.  

The grass around Felicity stirred where she sat with legs tucked underneath her, in front of Sara Lance’s grave.

“Hi Sara.” She whispered, absently weaving her fingers lightly through the grass. “I miss you. I’m sorry I haven’t come around lately. Things have been really crazy; it feels like my head is constantly on a swivel.” She sighed. “I could really use a friend right now…a girl friend.” Felicity laughed lightly. “I love both Digg and Roy, but it’s not the same. Although your methods of feeling better are probably the same.” Her vision blurred and a lone tear travelled down her cheek. She made no move to wipe it away.

“It’s been really hard to keep it together and I’m trying to be strong and optimistic, but sometimes it just feels so hopeless. I hate lying to your sister. It feels so wrong, but at the same time I can’t lose any more people Sara. I can’t lose Oliver.”

The grass rustled behind her and Felicity looked around, startled. When she spotted the intruder, she turned her head back quickly, wiping at her tears. “Hey.” Her voice was thick with tears and she cleared her throat before speaking again. “I just wanted to come and see her today.” She glanced back at him. “Something tells me it’s not a happy coincidence that you’re here too.”

Oliver fell beside her. She took his silence as a no.

“I haven’t been here since we buried her.” He said quietly.

“I know. I bring flowers for the both of us.”

Oliver smiled sadly. It was so typically Felicity.

“I miss her, Oliver.” She whispered.

He swallowed the swell in his throat. “Me too.”

“I hate him.” The malice in her voice caught both of them by surprise.

He swallowed again. “Me too.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before he covered her hand with his own. “Come on. Let’s go.”

He helped her up and she dusted her skirt off, shooting one last glance at Sara’s modest tombstone before following Oliver back to the car.

Felicity looked around as she fell into step with him, admiring their surroundings. The grounds were manicured and polished. The grass was freshly cut and the bushes were trimmed evenly. Even the tombstones seemed to glisten under the sunlight.

“How can somewhere filled with so much sadness be so peaceful and beautiful? Graveyards are supposed to be all doom and gloom.” Felicity muttered.

“Because these people are at peace now.” Oliver answered softly.

Felicity gazed up at Oliver. “Do you really believe that? You think Sara’s at peace?”

Oliver gazed down at her, her hair glowing in the sunlight.  

“I do.”

* * *

“Hey, this is the fifth time this week you got in past four a.m..” Thea said sleepily, eyes following her brother while he moved around the kitchen to fix himself a cup of coffee.

“I didn’t think you noticed. Sorry if I woke you up.”

She pushed off the counter and grabbed his mug, setting it aside. “That’s not what I meant, Ollie. What’s going on? I haven’t heard too much on the news lately, so it can’t be city crime.”

Oliver sighed. He had made a promise not to lie to her anymore and lies had gotten them into enough trouble. He braced himself. “Nyssa Al Ghul is in Starling.”

Thea’s eyes widened. “Al Ghul? As in _Ra’s Al Ghul_? The demon’s head- or whatever people call him? That’s the one who-

Her mouth clamped shut and Oliver was quick to reach out in reassurance. “Hey, nothing it going to happen to you.”

She pulled away. “It’s not me I’m worried about! He nearly killed you!”

“Ra’s isn’t here Thea.”

“His daughter is! She’s probably just waiting for the right moment to strike.”

He shook his head. “It’s not like that- look- she doesn’t believe that I killed Sara.”

Her eyebrow’s furrowed together.

“And she’s here to find out who actually did, independent of her father.” Oliver explained.

“But that means she’s after-

“Merlyn.” Oliver stated firmly. “Malcolm killed Sara, Malcolm is who Nyssa is looking for. No one else.”

“But she doesn’t know she’s looking for Malcolm- she’s going on a wild goose chase to find someone who is essentially a ghost!”

She began to pace. “And while the cowardly, son of a bitch is out hiding god knows where, a murderous assassin is probably tearing down anything and anyone to figure it out. And Laurel-

She paled. “Oh god, Laurel.”

Oliver stepped in front of her and clasped her hands together. “Hey! Listen to me, we’re going to figure this out, okay? We’re going to get through this.” He shook her, forcing her foggy eyes towards his. “Okay?!”

Thea nodded distantly.

Oliver left not long after, with multiple promises to make it home early and promises from her to refrain from doing anything rash.

For lack of anything better to do, she continued to pace the loft anxiously. While Thea was cooped inside, everyone else was left exposed to a danger she had unintentionally brought into their lives. Finally, Thea picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts. Her finger hovered over the icon that read Laurel Lance.

She made a promise to her brother, but she’d also made one to herself, a year ago, that she would never be vulnerable again. Never be helpless or defenseless against anyone meaning to do her, or those she cared for, harm.

Thea followed Malcolm Merlyn almost twelve months ago because she’d believed he could make her stronger. That he would protect her and love her because he was her father and that was what a father was supposed to do. Instead, he had brought her more pain that anyone ever could. Malcolm Merlyn had made her feel vulnerable again.

She pressed the icon and waited for the phone to dial.

* * *

Malcolm Merlyn was many things; a fool was not one of them. At least that was what he had believed. So when he received a message from Thea, a daughter whom he loved regardless of what everyone seemed to believe, asking to meet with him. He was grateful for the opportunity to speak to her, to explain why he did what he’d done. The necessity of it.

The message asked to meet with him privately in a space not far from Verdant, the club she owned thanks to him. She wanted the privacy from her brother and no doubt his nosy, utterly useless, merry band of idiots. Perfectly acceptable.

Except it wasn’t. He’d almost laughed when he realized it was a trap, because Malcolm Merlyn was no fool. How then, had he played right into their hands?

“Al Sa Her.” Nyssa’s silky voice carried from the shadows before she did.

Malcolm smiled. “Ah, Nyssa. I must say I’m surprised.”

“As am I. I didn’t peg the magician for a fool. I did not believe you would come. Even for your own flesh and blood.”

Something simmered underneath his cool exterior at mention of his daughter.

“Where is Thea?”

“Most likely planning her father’s funeral.”

He chuckled. “You always did have the quickest wit.”

“I’m happy you find as much mirth in your impending death as I do.”

“What are we waiting for then? In fact…I don’t see your father.” His lip turned at the corner.

The heir to the demon neither moved, nor gave any indication that she would. Her expression lay flat. There was no smug air to her, or satisfaction that she had finally captured him.

For the first time that night, Malcolm felt a frisson of fear.

Nyssa raised her head and out of the shadows, a ring of men dressed in League regalia circled him. His smirk fell, as did his confident facade.

“You don’t want to do this.” He murmured carefully.

“I couldn’t disagree more.”

“Listen to me, I didn’t kill your precious canary, but I know who did. If you kill me, you will never know the truth-

A shot rang out and he fell to his knees, blood soaking his pants where the bullet was lodged in his leg. He hissed a breath as Laurel Lance stepped around him, a gun trained to his face.

“Don’t say another word, you son of a bitch.”

* * *

 


	19. Poison in my bed, in my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which John Diggle plays a much needed Olicity therapist...among other things.

_“Miss Lance! I assume you’re here for my son, please come inside.”_

_Laurel stepped through the doorway before turning to watch as Malcolm closed the door behind her._

_“Would you like something to drink while you wait?”_

_Laurel pursed her lips together. “I’m fine, thank you, Tommy knows I’m here, he should be down soon.”_

_She looked around in silent thought before speaking again. “I didn’t know you were back in town. Tommy mentioned you’d gone away on…business…again.”_

_Malcolm’s smile was anything but warm. “My trip was cut short.”_

_“I see.”_

_“You know, it’s interesting. I’d always thought you would end up with Oliver. Not that it’s any of my business, of course.”_

_“Well Oliver is dead, isn’t he? And you’re right, it isn’t any of your business.”_

_The older man’s eyes widened briefly, before shining with barely concealed amusement. “Yes, indeed he is. I must say, I’ve never much approved of Tommy’s…company. But I’m happy my son seems to be taking his future more seriously. You’ve been a good influence.”_

_“To be honest, Mr. Merlyn, I don’t think he gives much of a crap about what you think- and neither do I for that matter.”_

_Malcolm’s full bellied laugh bounced across the walls. “Well on that lovely note, I look forward to seeing you again soon, goodbye Miss Lance.”_

_His laughter trailed behind him._

 

Miss Lance, I see you’ve decided against your dominatrix get-up tonight.  

“Shut up.” Laurel spat vehemently, her hands shaking.

He eyed her weapon skeptically. “I suppose we’ll see if being a killer runs in the Lance family.”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Laurel’s chest heaved with an effort to remain in control. “You’re poison. A sick, twisted monster and the world will be a better place without you. Then again, what can anyone expect from someone who murdered their own son.” She spat.

Malcolm’s lip twisted. “You know nothing, stupid girl.”

Laurel’s gasp of laughter was tinged with hysterics. “I always knew you were an evil son of a bitch. I wish you’d been the one to die. I wish Oliver had killed you that night.” She sobbed.

“You deserved to die, not Tommy! You took _everything_ from me, first him, then Sara.” Tears stained Laurel’s face and sweat beaded along her forehead and over her lip.  “You’re finally going to meet the fate you deserve. You’re going to rot in hell.” She took a shaky breath and lowered her weapon.

“My only regret is not being there to watch it.”

Malcolm’s expression wavered with uncertainty.

“Don’t worry, Nyssa promised me it’ll be quick- said Ra’s Al Ghul doesn’t like to prolong death.”

Malcolm roared and lunged at her, but he was quickly restrained. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You’ll regret this!” He screamed, struggling against his captors.

Laurel stepped back, her hateful gaze never wavering from his. She held her head high. “Goodbye Malcolm.”

She nodded at Nyssa and they led him away.

* * *

When Laurel finally composed herself enough to make her way down to the foundry, with an inner monologue and a vow that it would be for the last time, it was to find everyone already waiting.

Oliver stood slowly.

“What the hell, have you done?” It was delivered in nothing more than a whisper, but the vehemence was deafening.

“Me? Are you fucking kidding me?” Her hands balled into fists. “How _dare_ you. After everything you’ve done.”

Felicity stepped forward. “Laurel-

“How did you do it? Lie- right to my face. You told me you wanted to find justice for Sara. God I even _believed_ you when you said you loved her.”

“I _did_ love her!”

“YOU LIED TO ME! YOU’RE A LIAR AND A MUR-

Her mouth clamped shut and she let out a heavy exhale.

Oliver’s eyes flashed with hurt. “After what you’ve done, do you really blame me for keeping it from you?!”

“After what _I_ did?! I did what needed to be done! I did what you didn’t have the _sense_ or the balls to do! Malcolm deserves to die- and he’s going to rot in hell for everyone he has ever hurt.”

“THE ONLY THING YOU’VE DONE IS PUT THEA IN JEAPORDY!”

“What are you talking about?” Laurel cried shrilly.

Oliver exhaled in frustration, turning away from her. He ran his hands over his face.

“ _I_ confessed to killing Sara!” He yelled, pointed sharply to his chest. “This whole thing was orchestrated by Malcolm! Thea was a pawn in his _twisted_ game. He has footage of her killing Sara and he was going to release it to the League if I didn’t confess. _I_ went to Ra’s and _I_ took the fall, so that _my_ sister would be protected! And now you’ve just undone everything, because you let your rage consume you, because you were short _-_ sighted and reckless and _st_ -

“ _Oliver_!” Felicity’s stern rebuke echoed across the open walls of the foundry.  

He took a calming breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “ _That_ is why I didn’t tell you. And now not only have you put Thea in more danger, you’ve made her an orphan as well.”

Laurel opened and closed her mouth several times, before looking away.

“Please just get out.” Oliver whispered wearily, turning away and disappearing deep into the shadows of the basement.

* * *

Oliver was perched on the edge of his cot when he heard her feet pad along the floors. Her footsteps were quiet, an obvious indication she had taken off her heels.

The mattress shifted beside him. “She didn’t deserve that.” Felicity whispered.

 “Neither does Thea.”

“We can protect Thea. She’s going to be okay, Oliver.”

He turned to meet her gaze and almost wished he hadn’t. “And what if we can’t? I lost to him once already Felicity. I don’t know how to beat him. I don’t even know how to fight him.”

Her hand found his. “We will find a way. We always do. I believe that and I believe in you.”

He scoffed and hung his head. “Maybe she was right, maybe I am a monster.”

“You’re not a monster Oliver. You’re just a man. It’s time you realized that. Whatever skills you may have- _you are just a man_. You’re trying to fix all these things, but you can’t. No one can. Not alone.”

Felicity gave his hand a supportive squeeze, before leaving Oliver alone in the darkness once more.

* * *

Oliver pushed open the doors to the loft, wary of what he may find. He was surprised to find Thea sitting pensively on the sofa.

“Hey.”

She looked up and tried to smile. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“I didn’t think I’d see you tonight. You okay?”

Oliver’s laugh lacked mirth. “I should be asking you that.”

“It’s funny, I thought I would be happier about it. He’s getting what he deserves. But all I can think about is that fact that I’ve lost yet another family member.” She scoffed. “I’m a mess.”

He reached for her hand. “You’re not a mess. You just have a very big heart. You got that from dad. _Our_ dad.”

Thea nodded, eyes wet.

“Do you want him to die, Thea?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

* * *

John was quiet and contemplative when he stepped back into the bedroom.

“That was Oliver.”

Lyla shuffled over silken sheets to make room on the bed. “Is everything okay?”

He ran his hands over his face. “He’s going to Nanda Parbat. To rescue Merlyn. God even knows if the son of a bitch will still be alive by the time he gets there.”

Lyla let out a long sigh and nodded knowingly. “You’re thinking about going with him, aren’t you?”

John pulled her towards him, tucking her under his arms. “I can’t let him go alone. Not again Lyla.”

She buried herself deeper in his embrace. “You wouldn’t be you if you did. I love you.”

He pressed a lingering kiss against her temple. “Thank you.”

* * *

When John arrived at the foundry the next day, Felicity was already there, furiously typing at her keyboard. She looked disheveled and even without seeing her face, he knew her eyes were tinged with red. He hadn’t slept either.

“You okay?”

She didn’t raise her head, or acknowledge that she’d heard him at all.

“Felicity.” He sighed, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Her fingers stopped abruptly, but she didn’t look up.

They stayed like that for a few moments.

“You know, I stayed up all night trying to figure out why he does it. Why he takes on the responsibilities of the world.” She scoffed. “And then I remembered he’s a martyr. A stupid, suicidal martyr.”

Her voice was hoarse with unshed tears and sleeplessness.

“He has such a disregard for his own life.” She looked at John.

“Does he really have nothing worth living for? That he would just throw away his life. For _him_?!”

John knelt before her chair and folded her hand in his own. “He has _so much_ to live for, Felicity, but he believes doing this is the right thing. For Thea.”

“Malcolm Merlyn has killed _hundreds_ of innocent people, including Sara and his own father. He _terrorized_ Thea...” She trailed off shakily and shook her head, pulling her hand out of his.

“I can’t be here for this. I _won’t_. Be safe, John.” She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before rushing past him.

When Oliver arrived a half hour later, his eyes gazed around the room, sparking hopefully. When they came up empty, he simply tightened his hold on the medium sized backpack over his shoulder and steeled himself.

“I’ve got the jet running.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk to her before you leave? Face to face?”

“I’ve hurt her enough. It’s time to go.”

John hesitated for a moment, before nodding. “Okay. Let’s go.”

* * *

Felicity sat in her car until the shakes subsided, before walking across the driveway on uneasy legs. She felt bone-weary and haggard, having slept a total of five minutes before Oliver’s call.

The thought made her see red again. He had _called_. Told her he was going back to die, _over the goddamned phone_.

Felicity dropped her keys on the table and locked the door behind her, dragging her feet forward. It was only because her body was working on autopilot that she failed to notice another presence in the room.

Until it was too late.

Her breath rattled when Slade Wilson leaned forward in her chair.

“Hello, Felicity.”

* * *

When Oliver and John descended the jet on an isolated patch of desert, not far from a what looked to be lights indicating a small village, it was to find a small army of assassins waiting for them, led by Maseo.

The man, now draped in League regalia, different from the dark wool cape Oliver had last seen him in, said nothing. Not of Tatsu, nor his warnings to run far away and never return, or anything in regards to the events transpired on the mountain where Oliver had been left to die. His eyes revealed no indication that he even recognized him. Maseo simply nodded, before turning with a flourish and leading the group off in a direction Oliver assumed they were to follow - towards the hidden compound of the League of Assassins.

The walk through the sand felt like several hours before desert opened up to an expanse of candlelight and fortification almost as if drapes had suddenly been lifted from their eyes.

He heard Digg muttering beside him. “Who the hell are these people?”

Oliver guessed it was a question he didn’t really want the answer to.

As expected, the two were escorted deep into dungeons through long and winding tunnels and then shoved into a small room with its only source of light, two candlelit lamps mounted along the back wall.

Diggle glanced distastefully at chains lying on the ground. “At least they didn’t put us in those.”

Oliver sat in a corner and allowed his head to fall back against the hard wall. “It’s still early.”

They sat in silence on opposite sides of the room. Oliver’s eyes were closed, his face so relaxed and at peace, it would have fooled most people into thinking he had fallen asleep. John knew better.   

“Have you thought about what happens next?”

He waited.

“We pray that they haven’t killed Malcolm yet.”

John nodded. “Good plan. I see you’ve really thought this through.”

A ghost of a smile played along Oliver’s lips. “You know me…I don’t think much.”

John snorted.

More silence.

“Felicity said something to me…before we left.”

Oliver stiffened and he opened his eyes slowly to meet John’s. “Yeah?” His voice was gruff.

“She called you a ‘ _suicidal martyr_ ’. Asked me why you felt like you had nothing to live for.”

Oliver’s throat bobbed and the guarded hardness of his eyes faded to sadness.

When Oliver didn’t say anything, John continued. “I told her you had _too much_ to live for- that’s why you’re doing this- all of it. You know, for all the shit you and I have been through, Felicity’s been through her own. She doesn’t let on much, but she needs to hear it from you sometimes- that she matters.”

Oliver hung his head. “Every time I think I’m doing her a favor by pushing her away, I only end up hurting her worse. I just…I don’t know how to love her the way she deserves.”

John shifted. “Maybe you should start by letting _her_ decide what she deserves.”

Oliver nodded mournfully. “I just- I just need this to end first. I need this…this _cloud_ over our heads to clear.”

“Oliver, this life- this crusade, there’s always going to be a cloud. It’s up to you to choose to let the sun in.”

Before Oliver could say anything more, the doors clanked open and a masked assassin entered the room.

“Ra’s Al Ghul will see you now.”

* * *

The demon’s head stood regally and imposing in the middle of a cavernous round room. Oliver’s eyes swept over his sword before landing on the face of the man who had driven it through his torso and left him to die. His side gave a hard throb.

Ra’sAl Ghul’s dark eyes followed him into the room and the air around them thickened. John’s hand twitched and Oliver had never felt more relieved to have his friend beside him.

“Oliver Queen- the man who lived, come to die.”   

His words echoed and slithered against the walls.

Oliver’s eyes hardened. “You should have killed me when you had the chance.”

The Demon’s lips turned up slightly. “You’re right. It was an oversight on my part. One that I don’t plan on repeating.”

Someone shifted in the corner and Oliver didn’t need to look to know who it was. Nyssa’s breath was steady yet soft. He stepped forward- a sword’s blade distance from Ra’s. “Go ahead then. Finish it.”

Their eyes battled, black against blue. Ra’s broke away first. “No. I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to give you everything you want.”

Nyssa’s surprise was evident and Oliver heard John’s disbelief from behind him.

Ra’s Al Ghul nodded at one of his men in the corner. “Bring the prisoner.”

Nyssa stepped out from the shadowed corner and her dark eyes followed the assassin as he left the room. When he entered again, he was followed by two others, dragging an unmoving figure between them. Oliver’s fingers itched as he turned to watch Malcolm Merlyn thrown to the ground at Ra’s Al Ghul’s feet and then struggle to come to seating.

“This is what you wished for, is it not? The pardon of your sister’s biological father- murderer and traitor as he may be.”

Nyssa roared and Ra’s raised his hand to silence her.

“I give you his life in good faith Oliver Queen, along with the lives of all those you love most.”

Oliver’s eyes narrowed. “And the price?”

“Simply that you fulfill the prophecy.”

“Which is what?” Oliver spat.

“That you take your place. As the rightful heir to the Demon.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who caught it- yes there is a little HP reference in there (couldn't help it, practically wrote itself). There may also be a Fifty Shades reference in there...but that was purely unintentional.


	20. Ra's Al Ghul

“You really are one crazy son of a bitch.” Oliver heard John spit from behind him.

A number of the guards shifted, but Ra’s simply smirked. It was a dark and twisted humor. He finally turned to acknowledge him.

“Mister John Diggle, I take it. I have great respect for the kind of loyalty you’ve displayed, coming here, even knowing that you could die. And what a shame that would be for your _wife_ … and your child.”

If possible, John became even more tense, jaw twitching from the sheer effort to restrain himself.

Ra’s tilted his head to the side. Completely unaffected.

“As it happens. I do not wish to kill either of you. I would however, ask for you all to join me for dinner. The journey from Starling is long and I suspect the both of you are quite hungry.”

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing-

“Oh this is no game, Oliver Queen. We will feast and then I will tell you my demands. Should you wish to meet them is entirely up to you.”

He nodded his head curtly and the same assassins who had brought Oliver and John to the room flanked them again. They did not attempt to forcibly remove them, but there was no question what would happen if they didn’t comply.

“Should your friends and family live, is _entirely_ up to you.”

Oliver’s eyes met John’s and quietly they followed the guards.

 

* * *

 

Both having expected to be taken back to the same room were surprised when the guards instead led them through a wider, brightly lit hallway. A couple of tall, exotic women draped in dark silk passed, staring at who they likely considered foreigners, with blatant curiosity and open interest.

Oliver looked over at Diggle. They’d both realized the same thing.  

They were in the civilian portion of the compound.

After walking for another few minutes, the guards stopped and pointed towards two sets of double doors.

“One for each of you. We will stay here should you require anything and will call upon you once Ra’s Al Ghul is ready for your presence.”

The thinly veiled threat was clear.

After giving John a curt nod, Oliver swung open the doors to his room and stepped inside. Somewhere in the space of his mind, he begrudgingly admitted that the room was beautiful. Walls were painted a deep red, bordered with gold, and furniture and drapes in similar colors covered the room.

Oliver clenched his fists. Admiring furnishings was not what he’d come to do. Recognizing this as a deliberate ploy to weaken his resolve and distract him from his purpose, Oliver sat on the ground, cleared his mind and inhaled. He thought about Thea – strong, resilient, yet tormented. He thought about the people of Starling City who needed someone to fight for them. Finally, he thought about Felicity. The kind, fearless and intelligent Felicity. He couldn’t lose to Ra’s again. Contrary to what Felicity had voiced to John, Oliver had too much to live for.

The knock, whether minutes or hours later, interrupted his meditation.

“Oliver Queen, you have been summoned by Ra’s Al Ghul.”

Weightlessly lifting himself, Oliver left the room.

 

Both he and John followed the guards through more candlelit corridors that stopped at a single door. Two guards stood outside.

“You may enter.”

Oliver felt their eyes follow as he and John stepped inside.  

“Ah, our guests of honor. Please, come sit.” Ra’s sat the head of the table, motioning to empty chairs at either side. Nyssa was there, hand clenched angrily around her fork. Although Oliver wasn’t sure who in the room she wanted to use it on more, even as her eyes bore into Malcolm Merlyn’s head like she hoped it would somehow fly off.”

Oliver and John stiffly took their seats. Elaborate dishes sat at the center of the table, but Oliver’s appetite was non-existent.

“We’re here, you’ve given us the grand tour and now dinner is served. Now _tell_ _us_ what it is you want.”

Ra’s continued as if Oliver had not spoken. “First, we pray. _Allahumma barik lana fima razaqtana waqina athaban-nar_. _Bismillah_.”

When finished, Ra’s looked up. “Now Oliver Queen. You wanted to hear my demands.”

 

* * *

 

“You’ve shown a tremendous amount of strength, fortitude…power. I want you to take my place. I want you to become the next Ra’s Al Ghul.”

“So you’ve said, but I still have no idea what that means.”

“ _Ra's_ is a title greater than any one man. _Wing ta leo wo chey_.”

Oliver glared. “Am I supposed to understand that?” 

“No. It is from a dialect no longer spoken, said to me by a man whose place I took, as I contemplated the same offer. What it means is, _a tale to be told begins thus_.” 

“Is all of this supposed to impress me? Like I suddenly want to accept your offer to become the head of a group of assassins?”

“No. It's to inform you. Surely men have branded you a murderer, a _torturer_. But see, I would never shame you with such bluntness, because I see it in your eyes. The struggle you have with your dual identity. Oliver Queen and the Arrow- neither giving you what you crave. 

“And you think becoming Ra's al Ghul will?”

“Oliver Queen is a man destined to be alone. He loves a woman he knows he cannot have-

Oliver’s eyes flashed and the knife under his fist cracked. “You don't know me.”

“But I know the Arrow. ‘ _Al Sahhim_.’” Ra’s eyes glimmered knowingly. “You will never be anything more than a vigilante for those whose lives you save at the risk of your own. And the city will turn on you, your closets allies within the so called ‘police department’ will call you a criminal. You will be scorned and hunted, and then killed. Dying as you began your crusade... _alone_.”

“Bullshit!” 

Diggle stood abruptly.

“John.” Oliver warned.

“You’re not seriously believing this psycho babble!”

“Mister Diggle, I think it’s time you retired for the night.”

“What?”

Guards entered the room, grabbing hold of John’s shoulders.

Oliver was on his feet, knife in hand, as Diggle struggled against them.

“ _Get the hell off me_.”

“Let. Him. Go.” Oliver said through clenched teeth, aim focused on the Demon’s Head.

Ra’s raised his hand in silence. “Please. As I’ve already said, no harm will come to John Diggle. I simply wish to speak with you in private.”

Oliver took one breath in and one breath out.

Weighing his options, the knife in his hand dropped loudly on the table.

“It’s okay.” He said, nodding towards John.

John tore his shoulder away from the guard’s grasp. He allowed himself to be led out of the room, thought not before sending one last furious gaze towards Ra’s Al Ghul.

Ra’s looked towards his daughter for the first time that night. “Excuse us, daughter.”

Her jaw clenched, but she said nothing, simply standing abruptly and bowing her head, before rushing out of the room.

Ra’s too stood. Never once looking at Malcolm.

“Come, let us walk.”

Before following, Oliver glanced back quickly.

Malcolm’s head imperceptibly shifted from side to side.

 

* * *

 

“All men seek guidance, a purpose. A means to live without pain. Those who journey here, are given such in exchange for their fealty.”

Oliver followed behind him warily. Every step a reminder that he was delving deeper into the heart of the League of Assassins.    

“You mean they have to kill for you.” It wasn’t a question.

Ra’s stopped and turned slowly. “No Mister Queen…they have to die for me.”

They continued to walk and Oliver stared curiously when they passed a large room with what looked to be a large bath.

“As I told you on the mountain, man can only evade death for so long. There are mechanisms that have allowed for me to live long beyond my years, but my time is almost over. My legacy won’t be just ash and bone. _It will be history_.”

“And you think that I’ll help you survive that legacy.”

“You survived my sword. Your resurrection wasn’t a gift, but rather by force of your own will. What better heir to immortality that someone who has already claimed victory to death.”

Oliver stopped, eyes flashing. “I didn’t defy death just to become an instrument of it!”

Ra’s turned and stepped closer, eyes boring into Oliver’s. The flame’s shadows danced across his weathered face. “We are justice. Isn’t that what you’ve dedicated your life to? Why confine your crusade into a single city, when I can give you a whole _world_ to save?”

Oliver’s face twisted. “By executing anyone who stands in my way.”

“You would command resources that you cannot even fathom. Numbers greater than any other army- and more loyal. Even more so, than your friend John Diggle.”

He turned and stepped away. “Now, if you wish for them to renounce killing, that will be done.”

Oliver scoffed. “I doubt that. It’s called the League of Assassins for a reason.”

“The League’s reason would be your own.” He turned again and smiled. One that could incinerate a thousand armies and terrify even the bravest. “You would be Ra’s Al Ghul”

Oliver closed the distance. “And if I refuse?”

Ra’s dark, soulless eyes stared down at him.

He shrugged. “Well then, that would be your prerogative.”

“ _One month_. I offer you one month to deliberate. One month to decide whether your friends deserve to live, or die.”

Oliver felt a ripple of anger tear through his body. “Or I could kill you now.”

Ra’s chuckled. “You could try, _boy_.”

The air thickened.

Silence. Before, “ _One month_.”

Ra’s’ cloak billowed behind him as he walked away, his words echoing behind him.

One month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue may seem familiar. I stayed as close as possible to canon in this chapter.


End file.
